Love:dot:COM
by Zapenbits
Summary: —AU—She's trying to find herself. He knows exactly who he is. When their friends set them up on a school-based dating website, they connect through IM, texting, and total secrecy. And it seems, that sometimes those stupid love websites really do work. I
1. The Website::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

* * *

Being yet another boring Saturday night, Rukia should be studying. After all, she had a biology test that next Friday and she hadn't even attempted to study for it yet. She could do that…or she could just sit here, watching some American program and drink orange juice for the next three hours.

For some reason, the foreign TV show and an ice – cold beverage sounded oh so much better than making flashcards and studying them for hours on in. After all, what good would biology do for her in the long run anyway? Okay, that was a lie. Biology and most sciences were actually really good when creating art and/or owning a gallery, which Rukia planned on doing. It was also good background information when writing journalism, something else she loved to do. That way, you knew the structure of something, or how that something produces, and that knowledge makes it easier to draw or paint or how to sound smart around scientists.

Rukia always loved to paint. Even though her sister—and any of her friends—didn't appreciate her drawings of Chappi the Rabbit, every time she had drawn how she was feeling or painted something that didn't deal with rabbits, it turned out beautiful. Before her sister died, she had hung some of Rukia's art in her art gallery back home. Afterwards though, Byakuya—her brother—took over and only the people who could pay, had their art up in the _Kuchiki Gallery_.

Hisana had always loved art. She drew and drew and drew, even in her death bed, Rukia remembered her drawing and even painting. Byakuya had provided a lot for Hisana and Rukia and Hisana had always told Rukia to be grateful for everything. Not like she wasn't already. Byakuya had helped them off the streets and married Hisana. Hisana was a good wife to him up until the end.

After Hisana had passed though, Byakuya never spoke. He packed away all Hisana's art and Rukia's art in the attic of his mansion. Rukia had protested and even cried, saying it was unfair that he would take her paints, and canvases, and colored pencils.

He hadn't listened to her.

That's when she took up writing. Not fiction – fantasy writing, no, not her style. But, making people aware of what's happening in the world or what happened during that horrible car crash outside of town or even how to have better organization skills (something she did not do very well herself, but she could certainly report about).

And yet, that passion had to die away too. By the time Rukia was a senior in high school, Byakuya had already paid for her to go to a nice college and get a degree in marketing and one day take over the business of running the Kuchiki Gallery. She hadn't wanted to do something like that.

So, she ran away.

The phone rang, breaking Rukia from her thoughts. Deciding against her better judgment, she got up and answered. "Hello?" her voice sounded raspy and old.

"Hello? Rukia? Hi! It's Orihime!" said Orihime on the other end. Though Rukia couldn't see her, she could tell Inoue was radiating with happiness.

"Oh, hey Inoue, what's up?" Rukia asked, flipping her television off. Orihime was a long winded woman; she would be talking for hours.

"I'm just at my house and I was wondering if you could come over, like—right away," she sounded so urgent, Rukia hoped she was alright.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Perfect actually! I just want you to come over! There's someone I want you to meet and something else…just come over!" The phone clicked and Orihime was gone. Rukia looked at the phone like it was its fault for a second and then she hung it up.

Now there was a decision to be made. Go or not to go? Ugh, she thought. Probably should, I don't want to hurt her feelings. So, she went back to her room and changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of jeans and hoody. After all, she wasn't going to be there that long.

She walked to the small kitchen area, grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

* * *

"Ichigo, man, nice of you to finally stop studying for once in your life!" Renji yelled as Ichigo shoved him aside and walked into the red–haired man's apartment. Ishida walked out of the kitchen, a cup of tea in hand. It was strange that those two would ever be roommates—well, not really. Ishida had his own room until Renji, the freeloader, begged for a room.

And then this was born. There were two refrigerators, two toasters, two trashcans, two couches, two TVs, two of everything. Ishida made it very clear that his stuff was his and Renji's stuff was Renji's.

Ichigo sighed. "What do you guys want anyway? I have this huge exam on Friday, and if I don't get prepared for it, I'll…look just want do you want!?"

Ishida looked over to his roommate who was currently picking out from underneath his finer nails. "Well, Renji and I would like to show you something, if he would stop being an idiot." Renji's head shot up at the comment and he stuck his tongue out at Ishida and then turned back to the dirt under his nails.

Ishida rolled his eyes. "Okay, follow me, Kurosaki." He set his cup back into the kitchen, shoved his glasses up his nose, and then led Ichigo to his bedroom down the hall.

Ichigo had always thought Ishida a freak. And what proved Ichigo's point was the fact that he stepped one foot inside Ishida's room. Everything was spick and span—like a hospital. The walls were white and whatever poster there was it was perfectly straight. The bed looked like it belonged to the army, like you could flip a penny on it and it would crash into the ceiling. There wasn't a speak of dust in the room. It made Ichigo sick.

Pulling to fold out chairs by his desk chair, Ishida turned on his computer. They waited around for a few minutes and when the blue screen finally appeared, Renji was already sleeping. "What do you want to show me?" Ichigo persisted. He had studying to do and he didn't want to waste his time here.

"It's a website…" Ishida replied. "Something the school is sponsoring…Renji made me sign up for it and surprisingly it works…"

He pulled up an internet page and he looked over at Ichigo. "Hey, Kurosaki, could you go get us some sodas, I'm really thirsty," he asked.

Ichigo thought it had been strange that Ishida would make sure to keep his cup of tea in the kitchen just to turn around and tell Ichigo to go get some other beverage that could damage his room. But, Ichigo sighed and got up anyway.

* * *

Rukia knocked three times before the door opened to reveal a very bubbly Orihime. Rukia put on the biggest grin she could muster and said, "Hey, Orihime, I broke the law coming over here, I hope this is good," she said smirking.

Orihime's eyes widened. "What did you do?!" she asked, horrified.

"I went eighty on a sixty mile per hour road!" Rukia leaned forward, her voice incredibly high, like she was really excited about speeding.

"Rukia! You need to stop doing that!" Orihime said raising and index finger, emphasizing her point. "I don't want you to get a speeding ticket because you were rushing to get over here!"

Rukia dismissed the subject by walking into Orihime's apartment. The walls were colored a peach color with pictures of flowers and paradise scenes. The kitchen was yellow, which they passed to get to the lime-green living room.

In the living room there was a white couch and two end tables. A TV was by the window which overlooked the driveway to the apartment building. On the backside of the room were two doors; one that led to a bathroom and one that led to a bedroom. Several more pictures of Orihime, her brother, Sora, and several other kids from her high school decorated the walls in the living room.

Sometimes, it seemed to Rukia, that Orihime was the girl who loved living in the past. Every time Rukia came here the strawberry-blond haired girl always showed the pictures. She still knew all over her high school friend's names by heart.

Some of them ended up here, like Yasutora Sado, or Chad. He lived in the apartment building across from here, Rukia knew, because Orihime had told her last time she came over here.

"Orihime, what do you want to show me? I have this really huge biology test next week, and I really need to study for it if I'm going to still be alive come summer."

She looked confused for a couple of moments before her face lit up with acknowledgement. "Oh, that's right! I wanted to show you the website!"—she paused—"Ellie! Is the computer working?!"

There wasn't a response. Instead, the door knob turned from the bedroom and a girl walked out, wiping her hands on a wash cloth. "Yeah," she said, running a hand through her short-curly, blond hair. "It was just a little virus. Don't worry. I fixed it."

Rukia was confused. "Orihime, who is that?" she asked.

"Oh! That's Ellie! She just moved in next door and she's a computer technology major. She's helped me a lot the past couple weeks. Ellie, this is my friend, Rukia."

Ellie walked over and it was the first time Rukia noticed how blue her eyes were, like an ocean on a misty day. "It's nice to meet you," the blonde said, holding out her hand.

"Oh, you too," Rukia replied politely, shaking it.

"Ellie, is the website working?" Orihime asked nervously.

"Yep, I'll ready to go. Now, if you don't mind me, I have to get back home. I have a huge excel test this week so I gotta go study. I'm just not sure how to study excel." Orihime laughed and Ellie and Rukia smiled.

"I'll see you later then," Ellie said her goodbyes and left the apartment.

"She seems nice," Rukia said.

"Oh, she's great. She's so smart I swear she's the smartest girl here. I'm just lucky to live next to her I guess. You know I don't know how to do any of this stuff." Orihime then grabbed Rukia's hand and led her to her room saying, "There's this really cool website on the college site that's promoting love and such. It's wonderful! I've met so many cool people!"

Rukia groaned. She had seen commercials for this website on TV a couple times. It was more or less a chat room for the Karakura University. You were only allowed to sign up for the website if you went to Karakura University. You couldn't tell the other person your name unless you wanted to. It was your responsibility for what you tell the other person. In other words: if you ended up getting raped, it wasn't the school's fault.

It seemed like a pretty stupid idea, signing up for the damn thing, but Orihime seemed so excited about it. "Just two weeks ago, I met this guy and he can sew, and he's on the archery team! He seems so interesting, I just can't stop talking to him!" Orihime then started going on and on about this guy and how wonderful he was.

Rukia only half listened for two reasons. The first was quite simple: she couldn't understand hardly anything the girl was saying. And two: Rukia thought a dating website was beyond stupid. She had tons of studying to do, and homework, and even ridiculous American television to watch. She didn't have time for a romantic relationship…it was as simple as that. She had tests to study for, classes to take, hell, a job to manage. She didn't have time for a silly relationship with a guy that would either turn out pedophile or worse…a complete ass hole.

So, Rukia just blocked out the beyond-guy-friend men out of her life. Though, she had been oblivious most of the time. Only too often, a guy would befriend just to get her in bed. So then, she blocked all men out of her life except for the selected few like her brother, Byakuya, and her friend Renji.

"Rukia?" Orihime asked, as she seemed to be spacing out again.

"Hm? Oh!" Rukia was brought back to reality and her thoughts were cut off.

Orihime looked up with pleading and asked, "Will you sign up? I promise it'll be tons of fun. I mean, you'll get to talk to people!" _And with no intention of actually starting a relationship_…Rukia thought, her eyes suddenly widening.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I guess it won't be that bad," Rukia stated nonchalantly. "Where do we start?"

After all, what could come out of it? It's not like she was going to fall head over heels in love with some guy—who was probably a pervert—over the internet. She liked to believe was the most cautious person in the world…and she wasn't too far from the truth.

Nothing would happen.

* * *

"Kurosaki!" Ishida yelled from his bedroom. Currently, Ichigo was the one cooking dinner because he was asked to. Why the hell did he do what he was asked? For one reason: because it was better than hearing Ishida ramble on out physics, or chemistry, or the stupid website he found over the college's site.

So, Ichigo had excused himself and told Ishida and Renji—though he just went back to sleep—that he was going to get something to eat. It was so weird being in that room.

"What?!" he yelled back.

"When's your birthday?"

"July fifteenth!"

What was really annoying was that Ishida had been quizzing him for the past ten minutes. What his middle name was, what he wanted in a girl, what his email was, and now his birthday. It was strange…he didn't understand why Ishida would need to know these things.

Unless…

A website…

Ichigo suddenly dropped the spoon in which he was scooping the macaroni and cheese into a bowl, set the bowl—well, slammed—on the counter and rushed to the back room.

He threw the door open and saw what he suspected. Ishida was signing him up for some website. "Ishida what the hell?!" Ichigo yelled over to the man in question.

At the top of the screen the URL said, "LovedotCOM"

"What the hell are you signing up for?!"

"It's a dating website," Ishida explained rather calmly for the guy being yelled at. "I signed up for it because Renji made me a few weeks ago…and I met this girl. She's so interesting, Kurosaki. And I just thought since you seem to not have a life, at least you should meet someone you don't have to end up hanging out with."

If looks could kill, Ishida would have been dead at the word, "Dating Website."

"Well, you thought wrong!" Ichigo yelled so loud that even Renji, the sleeper who could sleep through anything, stirred from the noise. "I don't want a relationship! I have to study!"

"Come on, Kurosaki, don't you wanna know what it's about?" Ishida teased, smirking slightly. "I know Renji was man enough to do it, why not you?"

Ichigo was so furious at this point, he just wanted to get out of the apartment. "Fine! Do whatever the hell you want, Ishida! I'm going home!"

He grabbed his jacket from Ishida's bed and ran out of that apartment as fast as he could. He needed a drink…too bad it was Saturday…the bar would be packed.

He sighed as his adrenaline ran out. He was suddenly tired and just wanted to get the hell home. And when he did, he crashed—not bothering to pick up the textbooks he needed to be studying.

* * *

Rukia was driving home. She had just signed up for some stupid website she didn't even like. But it wasn't like she was going to say no to Orihime. That would be stupid and insensitive. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Orihime's feelings.

The website rules were like she expected. Don't get too personal. Don't give out your real name. And if you were raped by some old bastard, they weren't responsible—well, they hadn't worded it exactly like that but, it was close enough.

Rukia had to think up a penname. She decided to combine her favorite TV show as a kid with her birthday making it, "Chappi14."

She didn't even want the thing. But, she did it anyway. It wasn't like she was going to go home and check it every day, let alone talk to anyone. She was just there for Orihime's sake.

For some reason, Rukia had a horrible feeling about this website. And, surprisingly, pedophiles and stalkers were the furthest thing from her mind.

* * *

**Thus concludes the first chapter in, "Love(dot)COM"! **

**I hope you enjoyed it! I know nothing much happened in the first chapter…but…hey, you'll still review and tune in next time won't you? lol**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**


	2. Internet Hacking::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.****!!**

**A/N: HUGE edit on chapter one! My computer deleted about half of the stuff I wrote in there, and it didn't save or something…so, PLEASE read over it again. There's A LOT of stuff you need to know. Most of it is just around Rukia's thoughts at the very beginning. So, I'm so sorry! I didn't check or something happened…anyway, enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

_Two months later ..._

Journalism at the college was something like it was at high school. She was only in the "Introduction to Newspaper" course, so Rukia had to relearn all the stuff she had already learned as a freshman in high school…it was not that bad though—she knew all this stuff already.

"Does anyone know the difference between feature stories and news stories?" the Professor at the class asked, piercing the class with her cat – like eyes. They were yellow and beautiful and with her long purple—yes, _purple_!—hair, and tan skin, she was truly a sight to behold. All the boys wanted her and all the girls wanted to be her. She was so beautiful and so terrifying all at once.

No one raised their hand. So, Rukia took it upon herself to answer it.

She had been selected to be in the class after her English professor recommended her for the program. The class had done a research project right off the bat in that class and they were only told to pick a famous person in Japan and explain their life, how they became famous, and their impact on the world. Her teacher had told her that one of her essays over Kubo Tite—a very famous manga artist—had been the best research paper she had read in a long time, and wanted her to go into this class.

When Rukia went to college, she had gone reluctantly at least. For two years after college, she tried living alone…and had gone crying home to Byakuya when her job at McDonalds and her hotel room didn't work out. He had taken her back on the condition that she had to go to college and eventually take over her sister's business.

She had not even _thought_ of taking Journalism. She had just wanted to get away from that horrible life that she had gone into for two years. And when the opportunity to get a taste of something she loved again. If it wasn't painting, it was sure as hell going to be journalism.

"Yes?" Yoruichi Shihōin, her teacher, asked pointing to Rukia. "What's the answer?"

Rukia spoke up. "Because a feature story is something that isn't as timely or current as a news story. There are also usually more interesting to read and learn about not to mention, they are more entertaining to the reader."

There were about one hundred and forty freshman looking back at her with wide eyes and mouths agape. Rukia shrunk back a bit. Though she was a sophomore and at least three years older than some of the students, she felt a little uncomfortable. What had she done wrong?

Meanwhile, Yoruichi was smirking. "Very nice…um—what was your name again?"

Rukia straightened her back again and tried to ignore the glares and/or frightened looks of her fellow classmates as she said, "Rukia Kuchiki, ma'am."

"Rukia Kuchiki," Yoruichi replied as if tasting how her name felt on her tongue. "You're new here, right?" Not waiting for Rukia to answer Yoruichi went on, "Does anyone know how to structure a feature story?" Rukia raised her hand again.

Yoruichi smirked but didn't look at all shocked. "Kuchiki?"

"Lead, transition, quote, transition, quote, transition, quote etc., conclusion."

"News story?" she asked, challenging her.

"Inverted pyramid."

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. "Very well, Kuchiki. Class dismissed."

* * *

Though it was the middle of winter, Ichigo wiped the sweat from his forehead as he set down the last box inside his apartment. He sighed. Finally moving out of the house felt good….Sure, he was two years late, but at the time he didn't have enough money to move.

Now, though, he was moved in. In a way, it would have been easier just to stay home. Since he excelled at what he did, the University gave him an internship working for dad about ten hours a week. It wasn't a lot of time in Ichigo's opinion; he wanted to get the hell out of the school as soon as he could. But, he still had five plus years to go.

Maybe if he kept studying a little bit more and if he didn't take summer break this year like he had the year before because his mother passed away, he could maybe get out a couple years earlier.

Deciding that he would deal with the boxes later, he started to head to the door. Just as his hand grasped the knob, there was a sharp knock. His face scrunched in confusion as he went ahead and opened the door.

There was a girl on the other side. She had long orange hair, pulled back by two flower barrettes. She was wearing a pink shirt and a long yellow skirt and was smiling at him. "Hi!" she said. "My name is Orihime Inoue and I live just down the hall." She pointed, even though he figured which side she was down considering he was the last room in this hallway. "Room Number 8, so if you need anything, just call."

He nodded. "Thanks, and, uh, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki." He held out his hand awkwardly and she shook it nodding. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you too!"

The girl blushed slightly. "I'll see you later then!" she yelped and ran back down to her room, tearing her hand away from his.

He watched her leave confusion still etched in his features. Deciding he would still grab something to eat, he closed to door behind him and walked out of his apartment building.

He really didn't want to go to his dad's house. For two reasons: One, because his dad was simply an idiot. And two: it was "Ichigo, do you have a new girlfriend?!" or "You know I packed some condoms in one of the moving boxes!" or even, "Any grandchildren yet?" every single time he went over there. It was clearly annoying and Ichigo didn't want to have to deal with it.

But, he had a job to do. If he ever wanted to get the hell away from Karakura and all the memories that haunted it, he would have to go far away and the only way to do that was to get his degree and book it to America for an internship over there.

Reaching the small parking lot behind the apartment building, he walked over to his car and drove to his dad's house. There was tons of traffic and Ichigo would not have gone if he knew it was going to be this bad. Unfortunately it would take even longer to go back, so he kept going.

Finally pulling into the driveway of his former home and turned off the car. The house he lived in was pretty typical. Cream–colored siding, roof, a few windows and a front door. There were about ten concrete steps leading up the front door and on ground level was the garage. By the garage was the clinic. Deciding he wanted to avoid his psychopathic family for just a few more minutes, he walked through the yard and over to the clinic.

He walked through the front door and called out, "Yo!" but no one answered. Slightly confused, he walked through the clinic and through the several rooms which – by the way – were not occupied by any one. It had been slow the past few weeks which was supposed to be a good thing…for Ichigo, it was highly unlikely.

"Dad! Yuzu! Karin!" he yelled, opening yet another door.

And suddenly, he was tackled. "Gah!" he yelped as someone slammed into him from behind. He shoved whoever it was off and when he heard a giggle from said person, he yelled, "DAD! I was freakin worried about you and you do something as idiotic as this?!"

His father was saying something to his former wife about how cruel their son was being; Ichigo punched the old man in the face. "Shut up, old man!" he yelled.

Isshin Kurosaki, his father, had tears running down his cheeks as he kept murmuring stuff under his breath but composed himself enough to say, "There are some files that I need you to put away in my office."

Ichigo sighed and helped his father to his feet. "Okay, Dad," he said and he reluctantly headed off to his father's office to do something he hated more than anything: filing paperwork.

* * *

Someone was knocking on her door. No, someone was pounding. Ellie walked out of her bathroom, still attempting to blow–dry her hair. She raised an eyebrow to her door which was in her clear view. She quickly turned off her hairdryer and to the door, curious as to who would want to speak with her this early in the morning.

The pounding didn't stop until she opened the door and was nearly punched by a very agitated Renji. "What the hell?" she asked as he stormed in past her.

"Ellie! Those two are idiots!" he yelled.

"Who are?" Ellie was so confused. First, Renji comes barging into her room without permission to enter. Second, she was in the middle of blow drying her hair when she was so rudely interrupted. Three, what the hell was he doing now that required her help? "How about you sit down…maybe go splash some water on your face or jump off a cliff—whatever, and I'll go get some coffee?" she asked backing away.

She didn't even wait for his answer. Quickly going to her kitchen, she made the coffee and even waited for it to brew before she walked back in there, two mugs with the steaming hot liquid in hand.

And she nearly dropped them on the floor. Renji wasn't there. Ellie had always knew Renji took things too seriously and too literal, but now—he really didn't go jump off a cliff did he? "Renji?" she called.

There was a flushing from the direction of the bathroom and Ellie immediately sighed. Okay, he was just being a boy—using the bathroom…no big deal. _Stop freaking out over nothing_, Ellie, she told herself.

When Renji trudged back into the living room, he seemed to be much calmer. So calm Ellie thought that maybe this time he seemed like he was going into a coma or something rather than jump off a roof which was what he was acting like not two minutes before.

She sat across from him and they stared each other down for a few minutes. The only sound throughout the apartment was the sound of a ticking clock and the rush of the traffic outside.

Finally, Ellie broke the silence.

"What's wrong, Renji?" she asked. "I was right in the middle of drying my hair and you barge in yelling something about idiots. And, now, you're not talking. Are you like bi–polar or something?"

Renji glared. "_No_," he said. "I'm not bi–polar. I'm upset."

"_Why_?" she stressed.

"Because! I'm trying to get Ichigo to quit being such a push-over and enjoy life a little! Remember? Orihime and Uryuu had a plan! They were going to get her friend, Rukia – the chick who supposedly just does what her brother says – and Ichigo – the most boring person the world, together over that damn website!"

Ellie arched a brow. "But how would that work?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like they would get on that website and find each other like that"—she snapped her fingers—"that's nearly impossible. Besides, I don't think that either one of them even wanted the account there in the first place."

Renji groaned. "Neither did you!" he mumbled harshly. "And look where it got you! You're the luckiest girl on the planet, if I do say so myself!"

Renji was angry and cocky all at the same time. Ellie didn't think that was possible. At this point in time, she mused. Was it good to comfort him or was it better to try and prove him wrong? Though option two seemed so tempting, option one was what she was supposed to do.

Ellie sighed, got up from her side of the coffee table, walked over to Renji – who had his head down in his hands – and sat down next to him. She touched his shoulder and he looked over to her. Though it was over something stupid, Ellie could see that he really wanted this for his friend.

"I am," was all Ellie said. Renji's arms dropped to his sides, and Ellie crawled into his lap and rested her head on his chest. "I'm glad that I got an account on there," she whispered, her eyes, hiding in the fabric of his sweatshirt. "After all, I got to meet you, a complete idiot at times, but otherwise normal."

She looked up at him and he grinned. "I'll help you," she said. "After all, I'm a computer nerd, I know all about this kind of stuff."

Twenty minutes later, Ellie and Renji were hacking into both Ichigo and Rukia's account. "Okay," mumbled Ellie, her reading glasses slipping down her nose and the tip of her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. "Just…one–more thing…there!"

Ellie grinned up at Renji who was hovering over her. "Rukia's username is 'Chappi14' and her password is 'journalism123'." She hit the login-in button at the top of the screen and then typed in the information.

After finding Ichigo on the website, Ellie pushed the 'Send Message!' button and then wrote some little paragraph saying she thought he sounded interesting and to message her back. Next they hacked into Ichigo's account and then messaged Rukia saying just about the same thing.

Ellie smirked, closing the webpage. "Now, all we have to do is get them to check the accounts, and they'll see the messages. They'll have to take it from there."

Renji grinned. "Thanks Ellie!" he yelled. He pulled her to her feet and picked her up, twirling around in circles. She yelped and continuously yelled for him to put her down. When, he finally did, he kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, El."

She smiled and blushed at the sudden nickname. "You're welcome. Just one question. Why are you doing this for Ichigo anyway?"

Renji suddenly looked uncomfortable. He let go of her waist—where his hands had been—and he backed up a couple steps. "I've been friends with Ichigo for a while now…" he said, avoiding her eyes. "He used to be this rebellious, happy, don't–mess–with–my–friends–or–family–I'll–kick–your–ass kind of kid, but ever since his mom died…he just wants to get away from here. He told me that he wanted to go to America and live there, just to get away from Karakura.

"Rukia doesn't know what the hell she wants, judging by what Inoue told Ishida. She's only here for her brother but she loves journalism, thus her password. When she graduates, she'll just be living for her brother and not herself.

"They're both freakishly messed up people and I thought why not put two and two together? They need their eyes to open, even if they need to be pried."

* * *

**Done with chapter two! Woo!**

**I know not a ton happened. I'm just trying to give you a taste of their world, daily activities, etc. So, I hope that was good!**

**Please, please, please, REVIEW**


	3. The Bar::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

* * *

The sun was setting in the distance. Hues of red, orange, yellow, and even purple were painted in the sky like the hand of God himself had wanted the evening to be perfect. Though it may have a perfect evening, it was still Monday. And that was still the worse day of the week.

It was the day when businessmen went back to their big corporations and where children had to go back and sit in a classroom for seven hours. It was the day when Ichigo had to stop studying and had to go back to learn more things to study. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy what he did, he just wanted to have a small break. Christmas break didn't come for him. He stayed at the school, studying. He wasn't planning on having summer break either.

Weekends were pretty much the days of his only happiness, when he could sleep in until seven thirty in the morning and eat cereal and studying all weekend. Ah, perfect. It was always Monday that came back to bite him in the ass.

The wind picked up a bit, and Ichigo stuffed his hands further down his coat pockets. Despite the warm sunset, it was freezing outside. Even his jeans, hoody, two pairs of socks, and coat couldn't protect him from the frigid weather. Thank goodness the bar was finally in view.

Taking a sharp left with his "power–walking" he walked inside a one story building with flashlights that read, "Sake with Matsu!"

Inside there were several booths lining the walls and there were many tables with chairs as well. There were two pool tables, a dart game, some broken game machine, and a jukebox in the corner of the room. There wasn't more than five people in the bar including the waitresses and the single bartender.

He walked up to the bar and sat down at his normal spot. He usually would spend a few hours here…not drinking usually; he only had an actual alcoholic beverage when he had a very stressful day. Most of the time, he talked to the bartender, another college student, though he didn't think she went to Karakura University.

"Hey, Kurosaki…I didn't expect you to be here," a familiar voice said. He looked up from his balled fists to see the girl with dark hair and radiant violet eyes.

"Are you sure?" he smirked.

"Not really," she replied. "You're here every Monday, so after awhile I start to dread it. Just kidding!" She smirked and winked at him.

"You better be. I knew I was special to ya, Rukia."

For a moment they were eloped in comfortable silence. Rukia got him a drink, while he sat and watched some men play pool at the other end of the bar. He usually came here to have a good conversation with Rukia. Sure, he did not talk to her outside of the bar, and sure, he didn't even 

know her last name, but that didn't matter. She was there to work and he was there to relieve stress. What better combination of people? They never got too much into their personal lives, but hanging out with a bartender that was tiny but could kick any guy's ass if they crossed a line, was a lot of fun. It made the worst day of the week a little more bearable. 

"How was school today?" she asked, wiping the counter down with a white cloth. "You had classes today, right?"

He laughed, "It's like you don't know me at all, Rukia! Of course, I have classes everyday!" She smiled as he continued. "Dr. Kisuke is such a pervert, but when it comes to working, he's a total hard–ass. He's been drilling all these stupid terms in our heads for the past three weeks…"

"But that doesn't affect you, right?" Rukia asked, leaning forward. She glanced down to his drink before continuing her train of thought. "I mean, you _are_ kid who everyone hates because you know everything and every definition before they even have the chance to pronounce the word."

He smirked, cockily. "Of course, I went home and studied right after we got all the terms and I knew them, but it doesn't help me much when everyone else gets two extra weeks to study."

Rukia groaned and then hit him with her dish towel. "Relax a bit! You're over–working yourself. Have some fun or something. You know there are drinking contests here every Saturday. Get drunk, get laid, and be happy." She winked at him. "I hear that helps even the tightest of asses loosen up a bit."

Ichigo's face turned bright red and he went back to slurping his drink. Rukia giggled and went down to the other side of the bar, asking the two other customers if they needed something. When one of the two said something that wasn't a drink, Rukia smacked him on the arm and told him to go home. She was saying it like a joke but Ichigo could hear the sturdiness in her voice. No way was an old bastard going to make a move on her.

She glanced back at him and smiled. His scowl lifted into a foreign smile; he knew that he was trying to please her but when he was around her, he couldn't help but smile. She was living the real college life; having fun, enjoying life, and probably partying like all the other kids. He wished that he could do that sometimes. And then he looked at the image of his mother in his head and went back to studying. 

He needed to get out of Karakura.

"Whatcha thinking about?" an angelic voice rang in front of him. He looked at Rukia and smiled. She was so carefree. It was almost contagious. 

"How I can plan to get out of here in a couple years."

She frowned. No, not frowned, pouted. "Aw," she said. "And where is my favorite customer going to go? I thought you wanted to be a doctor…you don't look much older than myself, and if you are, perverts down that way." She pointed to where the old geezers were once sitting.

He chuckled. "America," he said, staring through her, his dreams of going somewhere radiating through his mind. "I'm going there to get a job as a doctor."

She giggled. "You know, last time I checked, Japan still needed doctors. America is sooo far away, Ichigo! Why would you want to go there?"

"Because I have to get away from this town," he snapped. She backed up at his sudden bitterness and he immediately recoiled. "I—I'm sorry. It's a long story."

"It's okay," she said quietly.

He sighed. "I probably should go. I need to memorize some terms for Kisuke's class…" 

He went to pull out his wallet before Rukia stopped him. "Don't worry about it," she said. "It's on the house." She paused. "You know, Ichigo, I'm here for you. Sure, I'm just a bartender, but I've put up with a lot of crap in my life as well."

He gave her a weak smile before thanking her and leaving for home. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his head down low. For some reason, that bartender's words stuck on him.

"_You know, Ichigo, I'm here for you."_

He smiled.

* * *

There were two reasons why Rukia preferred working her shifts on Monday nights. One: because there weren't so many customers. Aside from the people there weekly or daily, there weren't very many new customers who gave Rukia the freedom of teasing, joking, and/or mocking the people she already knew. Two: it gave her a chance to live a little. There, she probably looked like some cocky twenty-something bartender who just wanted to have fun. If only life was like that. When Rukia was there, she could be whoever she wanted. She obviously had that Kurosaki kid wrapped around her finger of lies.

She sighed. That probably was not very good, lying to a soon–to–be doctor. Though, by the time he was, she knew that Ichigo would have already high–tailed it out of Japan. He really didn't want to be here. Rukia felt bad for him. She had to admit that her life pretty much sucked but even she didn't want to go live in some strange foreign country.

No, Rukia preferred to stay in Japan, a place she knew and loved. She wanted to write or paint more than anything but she couldn't. She owed it to Byakuya to not do it. She had to follow his standards…she had to work at the _Kuchiki Gallery_; running it, not painting for it, not writing about it. And though her life was pretty much over at twenty–two, it didn't make her want to leave.

That Kurosaki was a strange kid, though a little charming at the same time. Rukia smiled yet scolding herself. After all, she had no time for such trivial things like relationships. Especially with doctors who drank alcohol.

"Rukia! Rukia!" she heard her name being called from behind her and turned around to see a flash of yellow and a body nearly crash into her. Whoever it was, tripped and would have fallen flat on their face if Rukia hadn't caught her.

"What the hell?" she huffed, trying to straighten the blonde back on her feet.

The girl looked a little flustered, pink dressing her face from the bitterness of winter. The hat she had been wearing was pulled back a little from the wind and her coat was miss-buttoned, like she was in a big hurry to get somewhere.

"Ellie?" Rukia questioned, removing her arms from the blonde's shoulders. She looked well enough to stand on her own, though Rukia really wasn't sure. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Orihime just wanted me to tell you something and you weren't at work…I saw you walking and I decided to—"

"Ellie! Calm down!" Rukia laughed. "Now, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Orihime said that you should check your Love(dot)COM page…she says that you haven't added anything to your profile yet and it was about time you did."

Rukia's eyes widened a bit with confusion. "You came all the way here, in the bitter cold might I add, to tell me to check some stupid account on a stupid website?"

Ellie shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood. Besides, Orihime threatened me with her cooking. How else was I supposed to get away?" They both crossed their arms and looked away from each other, frustrated.

Rukia was still confused.

"Why would you come out of your way to tell me to check an account?" Rukia asked, not letting up her posture. "I mean, it's not someone would actually message me."

The blonde coughed her breath showing in the air like mist. "You'd be surprised. I'm a computer geek and even someone messaged me. He's a really nice guy too."

"But you don't even know him!"

Ellie glared. "I've met him in person, thank you very much, and I do believe I know if my own boy—I mean, _friend_, better than you do."

Rukia glared at her. She never knew the shy woman could be so snappy and so sarcastic. It was quite annoying. Having to deal with drunks, homework, and her own problems, she sure as hell didn't want to deal with some crazy girl who thought she found love over the internet.

"If I check my stupid account, will you get off my back?" Rukia growled.

Ellie's eyes brightened and she was suddenly friendly again. "Yes, Rukia! Absolutely! If I log on tomorrow and your profile is decorated and it says you logged on…I won't ever bother you again."

Rukia looked at the girl questionably but then nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll check it, you don't stalk me. Got it?"

Ellie grinned. "Got it."

* * *

A furious petite woman stormed around the side of a building and nearly tripped over a trashcan because she was walking so fast. The man waiting for her steadied her and she slapped his hands away.

"Renji!" she yelled. "That was the most embarrassing thing that you have ever made me do! I can't believe you! Ugh, you are so lucky that I don't kill you now."

Renji shrunk back a bit. "Why?" he teased. "Was lying to Kuchiki too much for you to handle? I thought you were better than that."

Ellie glared. "I was acting like a freakin' idiot for you! You stupid–big brute! I can't beli—oof!" Suddenly, Renji wrapped his arms around Ellie's body, crashing her up against his chest. Trying to keep the blush rising to her cheeks down, Ellie tried to push him away. "Renji! Let go, I'm mad at you!"

He smiled his face in her hair. "I know you had to act like an idiot," he whispered. He pushed her out so she faced him. "I just want the best for them…can't you sacrifice just a little of your reputation?"

She glared. Of course, she knew he was trying to be sentimental…but that never worked out for a man like him. So, instead of retorting she smiled reluctantly. "Thank you, Renji. Did you get Ichigo to sign into his account?" she said through gritted teeth.

Renji let go of her shoulders and put a finger to his chin. "It took a few punches…and a few tears, but he'll check it."

The blonde grinned. "So, who cried? You?"

It was Renji's turn to glare. "Shut up. I had to do whatever I could!"

Ellie's smile widened. "Well, Mr. Crybaby, how about we go get something to eat? Your treat." He smirked, wrapped his arm through hers and they marched out of the alleyway and to the street, in search of somewhere to grab some grub.

* * *

Rukia bit down on the iced pastry she found in the back of her refrigerator and took a sip of a diet soda, as she sat down in her office chair in front of her computer. She hit the power button and slurpped her soda, waiting for the blue screen to come up and ask for her name and password.

When it did, she quickly logged into her main page. Then, she found a web browser, typed in the school's website. A typical college–based website came up and, with a few minutes of searching, Rukia successfully found the love website.

She logged in, even though she forgot her password and had to recover it. After ten minutes of tinkering and messing with trying to figure out the website, she found her inbox to check. After all, though she had never logged on, her page could still been accessed by several hundred students.

It turned out that she had a few new messages, mostly from guys she didn't know; a freshman, three sophomores, and eight juniors. Well, three juniors, five of the messages were from the same guy. "Can you say, stalker?" she whispered, licking the remaining icing off her fingers.

The last message was subjected as "Hi." _Well that's not totally creepy_, she thought and double clicked on the message icon. The web page took a few minutes to load but when it opened something caught her eye—she wasn't sure what—but she read:

_Hey, _

_I'm SoulSlayer617. Yeah, I know, totally weird name. My friend made me get this stupid account. I was just surfing and I noticed that you didn't have a lot of information about yourself…kinda like me. I thought I would check out your profile._

_Before you get all weirded out…I'm not a stalker. I'm just a kid with nothing else better to do at the moment. Haha, well I gotta go. I'm heading off to work._

_Message if you want,_

_SoulSlayer617_

Whoever this man (or female) was, Rukia immediately wanted to message the person back. It was so strange, some sort of infatuation, she was sure. She wasn't sure what drew her to the man (or female, though she had the feeling no female would have a pen name like "SoulSlayer617") but she did know that she couldn't feel this way about a pervert or internet stalker.

It was wrong. Why then, was she drawn to this complete stranger? Rukia wasn't sure if she should message the person back. It wasn't like she was going to meet the person in–person, so what would be the point of messaging back anyway? To contradict herself, what would be the big deal? If she wasn't going to meet the internet stalker, then there was no point in _not_ messaging them back.

She groaned, bringing her hands up to her face. Rubbing her eyes, Rukia set them back down on the keys as the curser flashed on the page. Should she message the man back? Or not?

She sighed.

"What the hell," she whispered to herself, and then started typing.

* * *

The rule Ichigo lived by, or some might even call it a "motto" was the fact that he lived to help people. He was studying to become a doctor, so he could save people's lives; he had a black belt so he could help anyone who needed it when he was away from the office; he would help old women across the street and when a mugger tried to take their purse, Ichigo would beat the guy up, turn him into the police, and give the woman back her purse without even breaking a sweat. He hated it when his little sisters used to cry and would always let them play with his toys—even though he hated it—just to make them happy.

It was safe to safe that Ichigo cared about the wellbeing of his friends and family. It was safe to say that he was a nice, respectable guy who loved to see people happy. But there was one exception to the rules of his "motto." And that exception was none other than….

…_Renji_.

It wouldn't surprise Ichigo if Renji was actually a caveman who traveled through time to the modern day. He was unclean and stupid most of the time. He could be caring but other than that he was…_ugh_, Renji. He was like that waitress, Rukia. He was here to have fun and live life unlike Ichigo himself, whom was in college to get out as soon as possible.

Ichigo was not sure why he couldn't stand the guy most of the time. They had grown up together; went to school. They had actually hated each other through elementary school and middle school. They often got in fights on the school grounds and had to serve detentions together which led to even more arguing and eventual fist fights. The summer before they were freshman, Renji's foster parents and Ichigo's parents made them spend three weeks in a cabin together down at the lake.

They had to survive those three weeks. At the beginning, they fought; kicked, screamed, and pulled hair, jabbed, punched, and slapped. One day after nearly drowning in the lake—when Ichigo pushed Renji off the cliff, Renji grabbed Ichigo's arm and they fell nearly thirty feet and then, got caught in the tides below—they made a pact not to try and kill each other anymore.

Ichigo and Renji still didn't get along as well as "best friends" should. They could stand each other up to an extent; and they became even more distant after Ichigo's mom died and he studied all the time while Renji partied constantly.

There were times when Ichigo loved the guy like a brother, which was most of the time when he wasn't around, but there were other times, like this one for instance, Ichigo would prefer to hang out with Keigo, a friend from high school whom was so annoying and perverted he could keep Ichigo's father entertained for hours with his schemes and plans to get inside the girls' locker room. Isshin would be proud of Keigo and urge Ichigo to be more like him if Ichigo had ever invited him over to his house. Luckily, Ichigo never let Keigo come within a twenty foot premise of his home and Isshin had no idea who he was exactly.

Right now, Ichigo could kill Renji. Ichigo could _literally_ not try and help him if someone, oh, let's say _himself_, shoved the red–haired caveman's ass over another cliff. And it wasn't exactly for a horrible reason. It wasn't like Renji stole a car or robbed a bank.

It was that damn website.

Renji had come to him asking him to check the website. He had been polite at first, saying that he went there a couple days ago to see if he had scored any hot chicks and he noticed that Ichigo's profile was blank. He had only asked Ichigo to check it, see if he anything new.

Ichigo had had a very stressful week. Hearing something that wasn't important to him made him extremely angry. After all, if it didn't affect him around finals time, it wasn't important and therefore unnecessary to hear. He had snapped and punched Renji in the face. Usually, physical violence was an everyday part of their relationship, but on this day, Ichigo had been dead serious.

Renji had fought back and they ended up sprawled on the ground in an all out war. They would have fought each other to death if Ishida hadn't walked in with a few bags of sewing supplies and broke up the brawl with pins and needles.

Renji was almost in tears; fake tears, Ichigo knew, but tears nonetheless. Ichigo had rolled his eyes. "Fine," he mumbled before slamming the door in Renji's face and practically running to the bar for a drink, an alcoholic one at that.

Now, he was sitting on his black leather couch. In front of him, there was a TV and a coffee table with a fortress of books stacked up with wooden pencils like canons, waiting for some crumpled pieces of paper to attack like an army. His TV was off and it was completely silent in the room except for the ticking of the clock on the nearby wall and his fingers typing on the keys.

He went to the college website, found the love website, and logged in, not even knowing how he knew his own penname and password. That was something he would have to kill Ishida for later along with setting him up the damn account in the first place: His penname was "SoulSlayer617" The "SoulSlayer" part came from the video game he had been obsessed with when he was little, "Shinigami Academy" which was a game that you got to be a death god, or "shinigami", and fight evil spirits called, "hollows". He had used to dress up in his mom's old black dress and his white belt from karate and his sisters old flip flops, and he would parade the streets claiming he was a captain of that world. The "617" came from the date his mother died. Ichigo wasn't sure why the hell Ishida would do that to him, but he was going to kill him for it later. 

After filling in the little random question boxes, he checked his inbox. There weren't any new messages except for one. It was from a girl named, "Chappi14." Well, he assumed it was a girl anyway, because one: it said it was a girl in her information box by her name, and two: no man in hell would ever use the stupid kids' show, "Chappi the Rabbit" as part of their penname.

Ichigo was about to just delete the message without even reading it before he actually did read it. What caught his eye was how short it was and how wordy. Ichigo was never strong with language arts. He preferred math and science but this girl, obviously, loved literature.

He leaned over his laptop and read:

_Hello, SoulSlayer617,_

_As I sit, avoiding precious homework, I came across your profile. I am not sure what drew me to your blank profile, but I feel as if infatuation as overwhelmed my body._

_Therefore, I am messaging you. If you would like to respond, then, go ahead. I believe that you are not looking for love on this website and neither am I. Good conversation, but not love._

_If would like to respond, I'll be waiting to hear from you,_

_Chappi14_

Ichigo stared at the screen. After reading the message a few times through, Ichigo moved the mouse so it hovered over the respond button.

Though he didn't love literature, Ichigo loved Shakespeare. To him, Shakespeare wasn't nouns, verbs, adverbs, and crap like that. It was just a guy, the greatest writer of all time, who did what he loved doing and that was writing. Suddenly, a line from one of his plays came to mind.

"To reply or not to reply, that is the question," he whispered, grinning. It was such a middle school joke, yet it struck him as funny. And then, he made up his mind.

It was time that he stepped outside his comfort zone. It was time that he did something like that bartender would do or something that Renji would do. He would do something that would be just as risky as jumping off a cliff on purpose.

And that was to open up to someone.

"What the hell," he mumbled and the curser was no longer hovering over the reply button. Instead, he pressed down on the button and he replied to a complete stranger.

**Sorry, for not updating last week, I was in California. It was a lot of fun. I rode so many rides but now, I'm back home. And I'm happy. =)**

**Please review! **


	4. IMing in Class::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**A/N: Ichigo's IM's are in BOLD. Rukia's are **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics._

* * *

_Wow_, she wrote. _You're hilarious_. She hit the enter key and smirked as it appeared on the window in which she had been staring at for nearly four hours. Yes, for nearly four hours she had been IMing a complete stranger. And you know what?

She loved it.

The guy she was talking to was so interesting. He said he was a medical student and hoping to get out of college in the next couple years. When she asked him how old he was, thinking that he had to be nearly twenty–eight, he replied just twenty–two, like she. He quickly backed up his answer with "Because, I'm pretty much a genius." She giggled and then typed that he should not think too highly of himself; his ego might get too big.

He replied with a semicolon and a bracket, making a face winking at her.

**So, what are you taking? As your major I mean? **The words appeared on the screen. Rukia thought for a moment; she could tell him that she was taking a degree in marketing and a minor in journalism. Or, she could lie a bit. After all, she was on the internet.

_I'm a major in journalism._ Sure, it wasn't that huge of a lie, but Rukia sure did feel like she accomplished something. After all, over all, she was a pretty honest person; telling someone incorrect information about her major felt like a huge victory for her conscience.

**Really?** He replied. **What do you want to do after you have this degree?**

She made a smiley face and replied, _I want to write, for anything; a local paper or maybe even my own novel. That's what I really want. I just like writing._

**:nods: Ah, I see**, he wrote back.

It went like that for hours. From about eight that night to nearly three in the morning, Rukia messaged that boy. Eventually, she gave him her IM penname because the website kept slowing down and _hell_, they wanted to talk to each other faster.

Rukia learned that he loved helping people. The only reason he really wanted to become a doctor was to save people's lives. He said that after his mom died a few years back, all he wanted to do was prevent that from happening to any other kid. His dad was a doctor for a local clinic, so he worked there a few days out of the week to help with his career.

Rukia told him that she also had a minor in marketing because of her brother. When he asked why, she hesitated and told him that it was a long story and it was for another time. He quickly replied "okay" and then a, "no big deal, don't worry about it" and Rukia smiled.

Even over IMing, she could tell this man cared about her feelings and how comfortable she was around him. Sooner or later she started to picture what he looked like. _A bit tall_, she mused. _Well, probably, but everyone is taller than me. Anyway, what color eyes should he have? Blue? Green? Well…definitely not blue. Brown? I don't know many people with brown eyes, so let's give him that._

_Now…what color hair? Red, like Renji's? Or…black like—well, like him…or maybe even orange like Kurosaki's?_ She laughed at the thought. _Nah, there's no one out there with a head full of hair like Kurosaki's. Hm, I suppose black will do, though hopefully it's not._

Picturing his face, she was pleasantly surprised. In her mind, he was very handsome. She wanted him to have big and strong hands, to hold her smaller one. She wanted him to give her tender embraces that left her breathless, though, she highly doubted an internet stalker had such embraces in mind.

But Rukia could admit one thing without feeling weird about it, he was very interesting to talk to. He seemed like the mysterious type of guy that you see across the room and you just can't look away because he's too damn hot; and yet, he only has one or two friends he actually cares about, besides his family. Of course, Inoue had said the man she was talking to was interesting as well. Rukia was about fifty percent sure it was the same guy who knew they were friends and was trying to get both of them to fall head over heels in love with him, just to end up—well, you get the idea.

The other fifty percent believed him. After all, not everyone was a serial killer and/or a rapist. There were some good people in the world, just take a look at her friends. Maybe, just maybe, she had met another good person; and a very interesting person at that.

* * *

Ichigo liked to picture her tall with a narrow torso and long, beautiful legs. She had dark hair, he figured, that was long and hid her eyes, giving her that mystifying aroma. She wasn't too curvaceous, but just enough to make any guy drool over her. She was quiet and loving; kind and beautiful. She didn't judge him or want him to change. She was perfect.

There was not a woman alive who fit that description. Ichigo had never had a dream girl before, but he figured this was what it felt like. He felt like he could run away with this girl; hold her, kiss her and love her. If everyone on the planet died except for him and this girl, he would still be happy. Ha! What a fool he was!

Glancing over at the clock, Ichigo saw that it was nearly three in the morning. He had never stayed up this late when he classes the next morning. He felt an adrenaline rush coming on, just because he was breaking every law he had created just for this stranger.

Chappi14 seemed like another one of those kids, like Renji. She seemed happy and carefree, the world in front of her, just newly discovered and ready to be walked on; she seemed so young and vulnerable to the world out there. Ichigo couldn't say he was that way; even though she was 

around his age—well, so he hoped—he had felt the world's bitter aftertaste, when it finally came knocking on his door.

His mother had been killed, first of all; that was the worst thing. He moved into his own house and paid his rent and did his taxes; which were another. He studied hard and went to classes, he had a goal in mind; he realized, in the real world, you always needed a plan.

But, even through just IMing, he felt like he could be one of those kids. Acting on impulse, he picked up his three hundred dollar biology book and threw it across the room; a victorious grin showed itself on his face before he wrote, **I just threw my book across the room!**

Her reply came quickly. _What? Why did you do that?!_

**Because I felt like it; I'm tired of studying.**

_…So you throw your books? ;)_

**Yes, yes I do.**

_Haha, LOL._

There was another brief moment of peace before she changed the subject and they talked about something different. They had been asking little random questions for the past hour such as, "What is your favorite TV show?" or "What's your favorite type of weather?"

The both liked anything funny and preferred the sun over the rain; neither told why.

He asked what her favorite color was and she replied white. When he asked why she said because the color was pure and untouchable; it was beautiful and had potential to become any color. Then she asked him what his favorite color was.

When he replied black, she immediately responded: _You're not Goth are you?_

He laughed, replying no, he was not. Then he explained his reason. He loved black because it was like night. You could do anything in the night; be anyone you want to be. You're not bound by text books, or family secrets, or things you've done in the past. You are not exposed to the world any longer when the world is sleeping.

_To contradict your opinion, _she responded, _if you have a troubled past or family secrets or even a test, they'll come back to haunt you when you're the one trying to sleep._

**I never thought of it that way. **And it was true. He never had. There was irony in his statement of liking the color black. **Nevertheless, that may be true, but I never said about me sleeping, just the world. ;)**

_Don't wink at me, SoulSlayer. I may come out in the night under the shield of darkness and slay you with my zanpakuto!_

He blushed. He blushed and he wasn't even talking to the girl face–to–face. That was embarrassing; so, what did he do? He blushed deeper. **Haha, thanks. My friend set me this account and he gave me this penname. Wait, you said zanpakuto! That's on the game!**

_Yeah, so?? I used to love that game when I was little. _

Ichigo smiled. Wow, someone who shared his opinion on something and didn't think it was stupid. Maybe, carefree or not, this girl was a little mature.

The next message he received changed his mind completely.

_So, what do you think of Chappi the Rabbit?_

* * *

All throughout her economics class, Rukia barely managed to keep her eyes open, let alone take notes or listen to the professor. She sat in the top and all the way to a corner of a huge room full of students; there was probably two–hundred or so.

She, like the rest of the students, had a laptop on their desk and were typing away, either taking notes, playing solitary, working on a project for either this class, or IMing. For Rukia, it was the last later. Though she could barely keep her eyes open because lack of sleep, she could hardly keep her eyes open because the lack of life in Yamamoto's, her professor's, voice has he read bits and pieces out of the book or different internet pages.

Her fingers flashed across the keys as she continued IMing SoulSlayer617. She knew it was unhealthy and that she shouldn't do it. But, she couldn't help it. It was some weird feeling she had that, even though they may all be lies, everything he said was in fact true. That he was really out there, telling her these things, not because she wanted to hear them, but because those were his real thoughts, his real opinions.

_Wow, you're sooo manly. I mean, not EVERYONE skinned his knee when he was two and didn't cry. Wow, you are truly my hero, _she teased. He had just told her of a story when he fell off his bike when he was seven and didn't cry in front of his friends because he wanted to show them how strong he was. They had all called him a crybaby and made fun of him because of who he was and he wanted to prove them wrong.

**:puffs out chest: You know it.**

_Do you not have classes today? I would think you the elite student like yourself, would want to be taking notes right about now?_

**Actually, I rebelled today. I didn't go to class. I've already memorized all my vocabulary for this week. So, I took it upon myself to give myself the day off.**

_:P Lucky._

"Kuchiki!" a roar of a voice yelled over Rukia's speeding fingers. Glancing up from her laptop, she saw about two–hundred and ninety–nine students looking at her and her furious professor—she could literally see the fire in his eyes—staring at her.

She blushed deeply. She hadn't been paying attention. "Um…yes sir?" her voice seemed small and insignificant just then as his eyes seemed to scream louder and he wasn't even speaking.

"If you intend on not paying attention in my class, it must mean you know everything about this course, hm?" he sneered, narrowing his eyes at her. "Since you have enough time to type away and not hear when I am speaking to you, answer me this question. What is the opportunity cost of lost civilian production by reinstating the draft compared to raising military pay?"

Rukia gulped. Frantically searching the corridors of her mind, she opened imaginary doors of knowledge with rooms behind them in which were gathering with dust from lack of knowingness.

She lowered her lashes, avoiding his penetrating gaze. "I—I don't know, sir…"

He gave an "hmpf" and a "I thought so" before glaring at the rest of the class. "Does anyone else know the answer?"

No one dared to raise their hand. Kids shuffled their feet and looked away while others coughed and did not look at the teacher. "By taking people at random into the military, via the draft, highly productive civilians might be used. Whereas, raising the military pay will only give less productive civilians' incentive to enter the military," a voice came from below.

Rukia looked over the people standing up to see who dared to answer a question from old man Yamamoto after he nearly exploded from frustration.

The man sitting there had black hair and glasses. He wore a white t–shirt and jeans, which, by the way, no wrinkled at all. Rukia's mouth dropped. Stupid bastard made her look even worse in front of the class! Well, behind the class, but—never mind that, what a jerk!

"Very good, Ishida," Yamamoto gritted through his teeth before returning to his desk. He sat down and sighed; rubbing the bridge of his nose, he muttered, "Go on, class dismissed."

Everyone started gathering up their things; laptops, bags, purses, cell phones…oh, and text books! Rukia quickly told SoulSlayer617 what happened and told him that, if that ever happened again, she would find him and kill him.

She closed her laptop and made her way out, quickly avoiding the old man with the crowd of students headed towards the door. When natural light hit her face and she felt the chilly winter air, she started looking for the black–haired jerk.

Quickly finding him, she practically ran to keep with him. "Hey!" she called, waving an arm frantically over her head. He stopped and turned around, pushing his glasses up his nose. The light 

reflected off the lens and it nearly blinded her. She quickly skidded to a halt. "Thanks for making an idiot of me back there," she glared through sharp intakes of breath.

"You're quite welcome," he replied. "Is that all?"

"No, what's your name?" she asked, grinding her teeth. Her temper was raging, yet she tried to keep it under control for the time being.

"Uryuu Ishida," he said, bringing a hand out in front of him. She grabbed it and shook it hard, still glaring. "It's a pleasure."

She smiled wickedly. "Rukia Kuchiki; the pleasure is all mine. Next time, though, can we not answer the question so it doesn't make Kuchiki look bad? Please"

He smirked. "Sure, Kuchiki, I think I'll manage."

* * *

**A/N: Please review!**


	5. As the Plan Progresses::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs are in BOLD. Rukia's are **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

It was raining outside. Two college students dressed casually for dinner quickly crossed the street using their hands to evade the sudden shower. Though they were soaked and their clothes were drenched, they were both smiling; well one all out grinning, the other with a light smile on his face.

"Come on, Ishida-kun," a young woman with long, orange hair giggled. She took his free hand, the one not clutching onto the umbrella, "we have _so_ much to talk about!"

She giggled again and Uryuu blushed deeply. His glasses slipped from his eyes. Suddenly, Orihime stopped running and pushed them up for him. She smiled while she did it. He was still blushing; his face hot. She was so beautiful; it surprised him that she would even look at a guy like him.

Of course, she hadn't. Not when they first met. After all, they had met over that website; eventually they decided to meet. To Uryuu, it was the best decision he had ever made. Over the internet, she seemed bright and happy and interesting and everything sunny and wonderful about the world. He just hoped she felt the same way he did.

Instead of running again, they slowed down to a walk. Though it was raining, they were both content in each others' presence. With Orihime's hand dangling by her hip, Uryuu was tempted to take it into his own. No, he decided. That was too bold. Girls didn't like guys who acted too bold.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked over to her. Her eyes were wandering to the many lit up signs on the street they were walking down. Her grayish, brown eyes were bright and full of life. Her hair was up in a ponytail, her two turquoise hair pins holding back part of her bangs. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a white shirt with a brown jacket over it; a scarf with deep reds, browns, and maroons was wrapped securely around her neck. Though her look was simple, he thought she looked beautiful.

If only he could tell her that.

Upon meeting for the first time, Uryuu and Orihime hadn't become boyfriend and girlfriend. Instead, they became close friends fast and looked forward to each other's company whenever they chatted online or in person. There was only one problem with their current arrangement: Ishida didn't like her as _just_ a friend. It was something more, he knew it.

When meeting her, he immediately knew that she was the sunny, happy, care-free girl he had pictured. He wanted nothing more than to become a part of that atmosphere for the rest of his life. He quickly realized that he loved her and knew that she bore no such feelings for him; of course, he didn't know _that_, just figured as much. Why on earth would a girl with a body of a model and a personality of the sun want to be with a cold man like he?

He quickly looked away from her and shoved his free hand into his pocket; there was no need to entice temptation. The other hand was securely clutching the umbrella because he didn't want to lose it in the strong wind.

He stole another glance at her. He was so hopeless. He was so in love and he couldn't even be man enough to tell her so. If he was rejected, what did it matter? He was a boring, cold person anyway, he knew it would come.

_I'm sure Kurosaki or Abarai could do it_, he mused to himself. After all, Renji has a girlfriend and Ichigo doesn't seem to want to get off his computer since he met the girl over the internet. And here he was, with a girl of which he loved and couldn't even say so.

* * *

Orihime looked up at the buildings to distract herself from their closeness. It took all her willpower to not look back into Uryuu's cold blue eyes of which were boring into her at that moment.

She was smiling at the thought of it. He was so kind and a total gentlemen. Though her personality seemed dense and oblivious to say the least, Orihime was not stupid. She knew that some men looked at her like meat because of her rather large—well, you know, but Uryuu wasn't like that. He always put her before everything; it was so sweet.

Purposely, she had let her free hand fall down to her side. She was hoping that he would notice and grab it, taking her hand into his own. When she saw that he had shoved his free hand into his pocket, Orihime started picking at her nails subconsciously.

It was rather embarrassing actually. Here she was, just a lonely college student, in love with a guy she met over the internet. She actually remembered meeting him for the first time. From his penname "Books4Life" she could tell he was a bit on the nerdy side but that didn't matter to her one bit. On the contrary, he helped her several subjects that she struggled with.

She knew how deep she was in the pool of love, and refused to step out. Though not a very rebellious girl, Orihime was surprised at her actions. She didn't want to move on and fall for some other guy who would just be with her for her body. She wanted _this_ guy; she wanted Uryuu. She wanted his caring devotion, his patience when she struggled to balance equations in Chemistry II, his soft smiles he showered her with when she giggled or laughed or blushed.

She was so in love and she didn't see him returning her affections. At first, she figured it was just a little crush; after all, she had met him on the internet, there was still a lot about him she had yet to learn. But before too long, she knew it wasn't infatuation her heart was bearing or just some silly little crush. Instead, she realized how much she loved him. She loved everything about him; his eyes, brilliance, kindness, everything.

Orihime couldn't picture herself with anyone else.

She glanced ahead seeing the restaurant in the distance. She put on a smile and turned to Ishida who was scowling at something down the road. Not bothering to find out what it was that was troubling him, she poked him in the shoulder.

He turned toward her. "Come on, Ishida-kun! The diner's just down there!" Grabbing his arm, she started running again. He ran along behind and she could swear that she saw that soft smile of his; the one she loved so much.

* * *

"Do you have anything other than potato chips and soda?" Ellie asked, examining Renji's refrigerator. Because Renji's refrigerator was broken and he was broke therefore not able to fix it, everything was crammed into Ishida's and the various foods were labeled with either '_Ishida_' or '_Abarai_'. So far, she only found junk food labeled in Renji's name. Everything else was labeled with his roommate.

Deciding it was easier just to eat junk food rather than toy with death, Ellie grabbed a bag of off brand potato chips, poured a glass of water, and headed back into the living room.

The couple had been studying in his apartment since the end of classes. That was around three in the afternoon…now, it was nearly eight. Wow, five hours, Ellie mused. It didn't seem that long. And we are not having that much fun. That rules out the 'time flies when you're having fun' option. Not saying spending time with him was not fun, it always was an adventure to say the least; what they were doing now was not fun; that was the problem. If they were doing anything else, Ellie would be happy.

She threw the bag of chips at him and he yelped as it hit him in the face. She snickered and sat down next to him once more. After recovering from the sudden attack, Renji had managed to nearly stuff half the bag down his throat before Ellie had a chance to have one chip.

"Hungry?" she smirked.

He looked over to her; his cheeks were bulging and his eyes were wide. He quickly swallowed and handed over the bag. Grinning, he asked, "Did you want some?"

She glared at him when she saw that there were only crumbs left. "Would you like to go somewhere for dinner?" he asked, standing up and brushing the remaining crumbs off his jeans. She scrambled to her feet and nodded quickly.

"Let's go!" she practically yelled. She was starving and only after seeing her boyfriend eat the only food in the house that she could eat, did she realize that. Quickly putting on her shoes and waiting impatiently for Renji to hurry up, they were on their way.

It was cold and rainy outside. Pulling her hood up, Ellie ran over to her car with Renji tagging along behind her. Quickly starting it, she pulled out and headed to the diner down the street.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a comfy red booth, sipping hot chocolate. Ellie sighed and sat back a bit. Renji followed suit and they were soon draped with a comfortable silence.

After ordering their food, Renji attempted to start a conversation. "So, how are your classes going? You said that you have a test in bio next week?

She finished swallowing the bite of her hamburger before answering. "Yeah, on Wednesday. Ugh, it's going to be killer. I don't get anything that we're doing…and, you aren't exactly a biology major. No offense."

He slurped his drink. "None taken; I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. Getting my general classes out of the way seemed like a good idea, when I signed up for them. Now, not so much." Ellie smiled lightly and he laughed.

* * *

In the back of the diner, Inoue and Ishida were seating, eating quietly and just enjoying the cold and rainy evening when they heard a loud roar of laughter ring throughout the building. Like everyone else there, they looked to see who owned such a laugh and Ishida sighed and Inoue squealed.

"Ellie!" she yelped. The blonde looked over towards the person who called her name and when she saw Inoue, she smiled and waved her hand, motioning her and Ishida to join them.

"Renji…" Ishida muttered.

"Ishida-kun," she said sweetly, turning back to face him. "Can we go sit with them?! I haven't spoken to Ellie in a few weeks; it'll be nice to catch up with her." She batted her eye lashes and a blush rose to his cheeks.

How could he say no to something like _that_? No, _her_?

He sighed. "Yeah, let's take our food, and go sit with them."

Inoue grinned. Jumping up, she grabbed her basket and soda and walked over to her friend's table. Ishida soon followed, still reluctant to sit with the roommate he spent too much time with at his apartment.

* * *

Dressed in sweat pants and a University hoody, Rukia snuggled deeper into her couch and sipped her hot chocolate, waiting for laptop to boot up. She could not wait to tell SoulSlayer617. She wasn't sure why; his cyber company always seemed to make a terrible day so much better.

_Today_ had been a terrible day. First, her alarm clock didn't go off that morning; her first class was at eight and she had slept in until nearly seven-thirty. She had taken a six minute shower (if that was even possible), threw her hair up in a ponytail, hastily threw on clothes, and in her car in less than twenty minutes (including her shower).

Arriving to her Physical Education "class" with only two minutes before the beginning of class, Professor Kenpachi went out of his way to spend the first ten minutes of class telling the students—while staring at Rukia the whole time, letting her know it was _she_ his monologue was directed at—of how important it was to get to school on time.

That had been _mortifying_. Then, on top of _that_, on her way back to her apartment she nearly crashed her car while trying to avoid some little squirrel of whom had yet to move out of the middle of the road.

She smashed her finger in her front door, burned her tongue when she first sipped her hot chocolate, _and_ her cable was out because of the storm.

Rukia was near breaking point.

She repeated all of this over Instant Messaging. She told him of all her troubles and he replied only when necessary. She could see him, tall and masculine reading her messages, his features full of worry and concern for her well-being. Either that or…fat, greasy, old and perverted reading her every word—she doubted that.

SoulSlayer617 was _too real_ to be some old guy. He had his problems too, knew what he was going to do, he was a college student. She sighed. After having so many classes in high school, Rukia knew he could be lying. She knew, she knew…but she didn't believe he was.

She wasn't sure…but somehow, she knew he was not looking to prey on her. He was telling her honest, true answers; and, what was she doing?

She was lying.

_Lying._

She was worse than the pedophiles out there. She was worse than those ugly bastards preying on girls. She was horrible.

Suddenly, Rukia felt very sick.

_I need to tell you something,_ she wrote. After receiving an "hm?" as a reply she quickly typed, _I said that I was majoring in art…well, that's not true. I'm actually majoring in marketing with a minor in art…I'm sorry I lied to you._

**Soooo? What's the lie here?**

Rukia gasped at his response. She thought he would get mad and not want to talk to her anymore…just break it off right there. Her perfect guy would never do that to her, but she figured this man would; after all, her dream guy was just a _dream_, this man was real. He had feelings too and she thought it would have hurt him.

_You're not mad?_

**Why would I be mad? Look, if it's because of "lying"…it was the very first time we talked. I'm not going to kick you to the curb because of something like your major. ruffles hair**

Rukia smiled. Subconsciously, she touched her hair and patted it down. Wow, she thought. He really cares…if he's who he says he is…then, he's a _really_ cool guy.

She blushed. For the first time in such a long time, she blushed. Laughing at her embarrassment, she changed the subject, asking about his day and what he had planned for the weekend.

* * *

"Renji," Orihime said, sipping the strawberry milkshake she had just ordered. He looked over to her with an "hm?" letting her know he was listening. "Your friend…Ichigo Kurosaki moved to the vacant apartment by my room."

Renji nearly chocked. Ellie leaned over rubbed his back. "Really?" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me, Ellie?" he asked looking back over at his girlfriend of which lived in the same apartment building as Inoue.

"Me? I don't know who he is in _person_! I just helped you break into his account and get him set up with that Kuchiki girl…"

"WHAT?!" Inoue and Ishida said at the same time, leaning over to the blonde and red-head, without thinking. "What do you mean?!" Inoue asked. "What are you doing to Kurosaki-kun and Rukia?!"

Inoue wasn't mad, Renji could tell; she was very curious. They both were, judging by the look on Ishida's face. Renji smirked; it wasn't often he got to see his roommate in such a state of shock and confusion. Upon realizing this, Ishida recovered and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Please," he said, "do explain."

Renji explained the previous two weeks to the orange-headed woman and black-haired man, telling of how Renji and Ellie broke into Ichigo and Rukia's account and then sent messages to each other. Then, after getting the two to check their pages, they would see said messages.

Renji grinned as he finished. Inoue was wide-eyed and Ishida's mouth was slightly agape. Both were shocked at what they did. Sneaking a glance at his girlfriend, he saw her shaking her head, a look of total annoyance on her face.

He nudged her in the side. She looked over to him, grinning and rolling her eyes. "You make it seem like you did all the hard work. Don't forget, I'm the one who actually did the hacking and the lying to Rukia!"

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, catching her off guard. He knew later he would pay for kissing her so openly, but at that moment, he didn't care.

"So, you're setting Ichigo and Rukia up?" Inoue asked, leaning a little further over the table. Ellie and Renji looked away from each other, blushing slightly. After giving a firm nod, Ellie snuck at a glance at her boyfriend. His face was flushed from embarrassment but there was a look of sensitivity in his eyes. He really wanted this for his friend.

"That's so sweet!" Orihime clasped her hands together and looked over to Ishida. "Ishida-kun, we must help! Since I live by Kurosaki-kun and you have the same class as Rukia, we can help them get together!"

Ishida looked over the girl of whom he loved, and swallowed. Her eyes were bright and wide with happiness. She looked so excited and happy and beautiful…how could he say _no_?

Pushing his glasses back up, he nodded. "Sure, let's help."

Inoue yelped and kissed him on the cheek. His face was hot and when he looked, he saw that her face was slightly red as well. "Thank you, Ishida-kun," she giggled.

Brushing her hand that was on the booth seat, he smiled. "I think Uryuu will do now."

* * *

**A/N: Sorryyyy for the late update! I've been lacking all inspiration for my writing lately. I'm just not sure about it…****Anyway, this chapter is kinda filler-ish but not really. Now Ishida and Inoue are teamed up with Renji and Ellie to get Ichigo and Rukia together! Woo! **

**Haha, thanks for reading my wonderful readers! **

**Please, please, PLEASE review!!**


	6. Can We Meet?::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs are in BOLD. Rukia's are **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

"Today, we will be doing a lab," Professor Kurotsuchi announced at the beginning of Ellie's cellular biology class. "For two reasons: one, because you have a test next tomorrow and I know that half of you don't study. And two, because I want to see if any of you have been paying attention in this class. Being the nice man that I am, this will be a review for your test. Pick one partner, head over to the lab tables, and follow the instructions on your paper."

Ellie inwardly groaned. She hated when there were partner labs because that always meant she was the freak doing twice as much work because she could never get a partner.

Looking over everyone's shoulders as the fifty or so students headed over to the lab tables, she tried to find some other freak to work with. So far this quarter the class hadn't been assigned these types of labs, so there were new people who entered her class and she hadn't gotten around in finding anyone else who looked like she could be compatible working with. Examining the different clichés, Ellie couldn't find anyone, until…

_There!_ She couldn't believe her luck. In the three years she had gone to college, never had she found another person who just picked a table because they knew no one would want be their partner. While briskly walking over to his side she took her time to examine him; he didn't seem like the nerdy type with his sunset hair, tight pants and short shirt, but she could tell—he was probably the smart kid who wanted to get out of college as soon as possible.

"Hi," she whispered when she reached his side. She was looking over the directions, trying to avoid his eyes. Something seemed familiar about him, she just wasn't sure why.

"Hey," he greeted. There was a few seconds of silence before he asked, "Not trying to be rude…but why do you want to be partnered up with me? I'm sure you can find someone more interesting than me to be stuck with."

Ellie chuckled. "Truth is," she replied, looking up to meet his eyes, "I'm the kid no one wants to be partnered up with and you—well, you seem a lot like me, so I thought I might give this partner thing a try. Of course, if you want to that is."

He smiled kindly down at her. Now that she thought about it, this guy was really tall. Not as tall as Renji but still way taller than she. "Sure," he said. "The name's Ichigo by the way. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ellie's eyes widened. Whipping her head, she looked at her partner. No wonder he looked so familiar! He was Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji's friend…the one she was trying to set up with Rukia! This was the guy who had a bad past couple of years and was now the robot student! _Oh my God_, Ellie thought, panicking slightly. _Out of all people I meet him! This could be really good for Renji's plan! Maybe we can—_

"What's your name?"

She gasped for air when she realized she had been holding her breath for the past couple of minutes. She looked up at Ichigo and replied, "My name is Elethea but everyone calls me Ellie."

"Ellie, huh?" Ichigo asked quietly. "You aren't, by chance, Renji Abarai's girlfriend, are you?" He looked over to her to find her grinning, the slightest bit of pink tingeing her cheeks.

"Yeah, that's me."

Ichigo turned to face her and she did the same. "Well," he replied, "it's nice to meet you Ellie." He held out his hand and she shook it.

"Nice to meet you too, Ichigo."

* * *

Finishing up his studying for the night, Ichigo leaned over his coffee table and turned on his laptop. Earlier that night, he had decided that, if he had turned on his computer he probably wouldn't get any work done because he would be too busy talking to Chappi14.

It was almost pathetic.

The highlight of his day was going home to talk so some girl on the internet. Whose life was that boring and that pitiful to look forward to talking to a complete stranger? Ichigo had known that he wasn't exactly 'Mr. Social Butterfly' but he did know he was never that low on the pathetic scale.

But obviously, by the way his leg was twitching with anxiousness and because the computer was loading too slowly (it took nearly two minutes!), he most definitely was. He couldn't wait to tell Chappi14 all the things that happened to him. He couldn't wait to tell her his dreams, what he wanted his future to look like, or even what his favorite color was. He loved talking to her.

And somewhere, deep in the corridors of his mind, he wanted to meet her. He wanted to actually learn about her person, he wanted her to be with him, he wanted her. He needed her. When he talked to her, without even trying, she made him want to be happier, to live more.

He wanted to be better at living, for her.

Taking a break from his racing mind and his attacking thoughts, Ichigo looked down at his laptop and saw that it was done loading and ready for use. He checked to see if she was on and sure enough, she was.

**Yo, **he typed. While waiting for her to reply, he busied himself with work so he didn't seem too anxious for her to answer. Ah, who was he kidding!? If she didn't answer, he would think she was mad at him and trying to avoid him. If she didn't answer he would probably throw a fit or throw a book out his window. If she didn't answer—

_Hello. How _are_ you?_

Thank God she answered. He was too young to have a heart attack or _die_ because she didn't reply to his message. Briefly he wondered, if she knew what was going on inside of his head, what would she think? Would she laugh and walk away or would she smile warmly and tell him she felt the same way. He hoped it was the latter.

Since he didn't have any early morning classes that day, he talked to her late in the night. The subject tonight was siblings. She had told him about her strict brother and her pursuit for happiness after college to escape him.

His sisters were in their last year of high school. He didn't get a chance to talk to them pretty much besides his weekly visits to the clinic because they were busy planning for college, playing soccer (Karin), after-school cooking club (Yuzu), along with boyfriends (Karin and Yuzu).

**Come to think of it, **he typed. **I've never even met their boyfriends. My pops was probably too busy coming up with marriage plans and hinting questions about grandchildren to even give the boys the 'No sex before marriage' talk.**

_Your father encourages teen pregnancy? I thought you said he was a doctor…that's a bit of a contradiction, eh? XD_

Ichigo laughed at her response. It was quite a contradiction indeed. His father was always like that; when the old man finally figured out that Ichigo wasn't looking for love any time soon, he only pestered every once in a while about babies and condoms. Instead, Isshin moved on to Ichigo's sisters, which was good for him but not exactly a "joy ride" for Yuzu and Karin.

**Yeah, it's a long story. My father can't wait to be a grandfather and, on top of that, he's a total pervert. What can I say? That's my dad.**

_) Okay. I see. At least you have someone who seems like they would talk to you with ease or even look at you when they're talking to you. My brother never does that._

**What a jerk. I mean, no offense to you, but, coming from an older brother, that's wrong. A brother is supposed to be there for his younger sister. I'm sorry.**

_You are very kind. Thank you._

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Ellie looked over from her stove in which she was currently making soup for dinner. Glancing over at the clock, she saw that it was nearly six o' clock. She had invited Renji over to have dinner and because she had to tell him that she now knew Ichigo and would probably be working with him on future labs in class.

Turning the burner off, she walked over to her door and opened it. Sure enough, there was Renji dressed in jeans and a black hoody, his hair pulled back into a pony and a white bandana covering his forehead.

She smiled and let him come inside. Subconsciously brushing off her jeans, Ellie hoped that Renji was impressed with what he saw. Even though they had been dating for a while now, Ellie had never suggested coming over to her home. He came over that one time because he was furious and several times before that, when he was taking her home from a date but never had she invited him on over purposely.

Ellie was nervous for some reason. _Come on_, she thought. _It's just Renji. It's not any different that he's in my home now, whereas I've gone to his house before. Actually, this is probably safer than anything. Just stop thinking and talk to him_!

"Um…cool hoody," she blurted. Quickly looking down to see if his hoody was indeed 'cool' she cringed when it was just a typical college-branded one. _Damn it,_ she cursed mentally.

"Uh, thanks," he replied, looking away.

"I made soup!" Ellie announced a little too eagerly. "I'll go get you some!" she added before he had a chance to reply. Quickly retreating the kitchen, she sighed. Something was wrong with her…having Renji in her apartment wasn't that bad. It really wasn't.

"Ellie?" a hesitant voice came from behind. She turned around and saw Renji looking down at her, his face was etched with worry. "What's going on?"

She hesitated. "I'm just—it's just…it's just the first time you've really been in here and I'm too damn nervous and now that Ichigo's in my cellular biology class I can help with the plan, I have that test, and ugh! I'm just a mess!"

Ellie looked up at Renji to find him wide-eyed. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. Before she could ask what was wrong though, Renji said, "Ichigo's in your class?"

Going over her little rant in her head she quickly told herself that yes, she did in fact say that. "Yeah," she replied. "We were partners today for a lab. I asked you to come over because I wanted to tell you…and that we could think of something for the plan or something…"

Renji grinned and kissed her on the forehead before she had any time to react. "That's great, Ellie! You can get information on the website so we know how far in their relationship they are! This is awesome!"

Ellie smiled lightly, a huge burden lifted off her shoulders. "I'm glad to help. And besides, Ichigo's extremely smart. We were the first ones done with our lab and Professor Kurotsuchi said he'd sly us a couple of extra credit points. Though, I'm not sure what two points would matter." She grinned up at him. "It's nice being able to work with someone for once."

* * *

Late into the night, Ichigo could barely keep his eyes open as he continued to IM Chappi14. They had talked about family for a long time, neither telling too much about their past but not hiding a whole lot. Ichigo learned a little of her sister and about how much Chappi14 missed her after she died.

Ichigo told her a bit about his mother and how, just two years before, he had lost her. He didn't explain what happened though. He couldn't do that….She would probably hate him. It _was_ his fault that his mother died.

**Hey, Chap?**

_Yeah?_

**I have something to confess to you, **he wrote. Ichigo wasn't sure what he was doing. Maybe it was the fact that he told this girl so much about him without actually meeting her personally that brought on the question, but he couldn't help it. He had to ask.

He had to know.

**Do you want to meet in person?**

**Do you want to meet in person? **The words came up on her screen before she had any opportunity to reply. Rukia sat there, stunned.

Her prince charming, her knight in shining armor, her Romeo, her—wow, this is getting sappy, the guy she could talk to over the internet and feel like she was sitting right in front of him….The guy wanted to meet _her_, the cold, indifferent woman of whom he had only been talking to for about a month? He wanted to meet her?

_He wants to meet me_, she thought. Suddenly, Rukia felt her heart speed up and her face turned pink. She didn't know how a man over the internet could do such a thing to her. _He's a rapist or an internet lurker, or—or…_

_I have to think about it, _she ended up typing. She wasn't sure why she kept open the window of opportunity. She knew that she should have just told him no and that she wasn't looking for a relationship at the moment. She knew; she knew that leaving the subject open for negotiation was a bad idea.

But she couldn't help it. She had feelings for this man over the internet. She thought about him all day through her classes; what he looked like, how tall he was, if he was cute or sexy or ugly, if he loved reading or if he couldn't stand reading even medical reports. She thought about all these things and sometimes she had to force herself not to.

**Alright**, he replied.** Maybe some other time then?**

_Yeah, _she typed. _Some other time. You know, a time when we're both trying not to pass out from lack of sleep? ;)_

**Sleep actually sounds good. I guess I'll talk to you sometime soon then? And hey, I'm sorry I brought that up. You still think I'm an internet lurker?**

_It's not that I don't trust you, _she replied. _There's just a lot of stuff going on right now and I can't have a rapist stalking me. Not that you're a rapist, it's just…paranoia okay?_

**laughs Okay. I'll talk to you later then.**

_Okay. Bye._

* * *

She didn't log on for the next three days. During the rest of the week of school and into Friday night, Rukia weighed her options.

She was becoming too attached to her internet friend. She could tell that she was on the bridge of truly liking him more than just the guy-I-met-on-the-internet kind of guy to a-guy-I-can't-stop-thinking-about kind of guy.

Rukia didn't want that. She didn't have the time or the effort to be in a relationship. She just wanted to come home, talk to this guy, and act as if nothing happened the next day. Because when the guy ended up being a rapist or a stalker, she was going to be disappointed. She didn't want to be disappointed. She wanted to live in her little fantasy world.

She didn't want to meet him.

But she did, _so much_. She wanted to see what he looked like, she wanted to actually learn about him in person, she wanted him to be with her; she wanted him. She needed him. When she talked to him, without even trying, he made her want to be happier, to live more.

It was pathetic. She was pitiful. But she could not help it. She wanted to be with SoulSlayer617 and learn about him. She wanted her fantasy to become reality…but she didn't.

_Maybe it's better if we just talk on the internet, _Rukia thought, unlocking her apartment door. _Maybe it's better to act as if SoulSlayer617 doesn't even exist. Maybe I shouldn't log back into my instant messenger. Maybe…maybe….I have to stop thinking._

She hated repeated the same problem to Inoue earlier that day after her Intro to Newspaper class. Rukia poured out all her deepest thoughts and feelings about the man on the internet. Inoue had made tea for her (even though she insisted that mushrooms were better in it than sugar) and listened to her every pathetic thought.

And after everything was said and done, Inoue had told Rukia, "If you really feel this strongly about him…meet him. I met the guy I was talking to on the internet and now…" she had blushed at this point, "Now, I think I'm in a relationship with him. And I can't be any _happier_."

Rukia turned on her computer for the first time in such a long time. It had only been three or four days since she had last talked to SoulSlayer617, but it felt like forever and a half.

It was so unfair.

She wasn't supposed to fall for a guy over the internet.

* * *

Ichigo paced his living room and glanced down at his computer…again. Again, as in the eighth time in the past two minutes.

He had been counting.

She hadn't logged on for the past three days. What had he done wrong? All he did was suggest that they should meet in person. He thought that maybe she had felt similar feelings towards him…he thought—he thought…He was so wrong.

He was so out of line.

Why did he ask her such a thing? He had known she thought that he was an internet stalker or a rapist and yet, "Hey, Chappi14 do want to meet down a dark alleyway?" seemed to have implanted itself in her head. He hadn't meant to do that.

_He was such an idiot!_

Glancing at the screen again, he sighed. It was no use. She was gone forever. Sooner or later, she would delete her profile and his name from her instant messenger list and he would just be a memory to her; just some desperate guy who wanted to meet her more than anything.

Why did this always have to happen to him?

He thought he found his calling when he decided to move away from Japan and the people that lived here. Then it turns out, his friends were actually pretty cool people and he couldn't picture himself trying to make new ones in a foreign country like America.

He thought that he could pass as a loner and get by without having to deal with anyone his age. And yet, Renji's girlfriend came up to him and knew exactly what he was going through; she had wanted to be his partner, his lab partner. _He never had a lab partner before_. And now that he had one, it made the work a whole lot easier than before when he was doing everything on his own.

He thought that he would be able to sign up for a love website and _not_ fall in love. And yet, the first girl who gave him a chance turned out to be a girl he wanted to meet more than anything. He had no idea what she looked like or what her name was, but that didn't matter. He wanted to stay in Japan, even for just a little while longer, if that gave him the chance to really meet her.

It wasn't fair.

His life had been a monologue of unluckiness. He had always had to strive for what he wanted and he worked hard at what he did. And what happened? His mother was killed and his he couldn't stand the thought of getting too close to someone for fear of being hurt or being rejected.

_Fear_? Was he really afraid of this girl, Chappi14?

She hadn't logged back on. There could have been a logical reason; maybe she went on a sudden vacation or had so much schoolwork that she had to finish and couldn't get back on. But—_she hadn't logged back on_. It was bigger than just vacations and school. She hadn't gotten back on because he had suggested meeting her.

What was wrong with him? God, he sounded like an angst-ridden high school boy.

His computer made a beeping sound and he looked down, happy for a distraction. But when he looked at the screen it was a separate window that had opened up.

_Hey, are you there? _The window read.

Ichigo's heart leaped.

Jumping over his couch to reach the coffee table, he quickly replied, **Yeah, I'm here. Why haven't you been on for the past few days?**

_I was thinking about a lot of stuff._

**So, what's up?**

_I think we should wait to meet. Maybe in a few months or something because I just, I can't meet you right now. I do, I really do want to…but, I can't right now. Is that okay?_

Ichigo grinned as happiness coursed throughout his body; the feeling was totally foreign but he liked it. It was something different and he liked the change.

**Yeah, of course. Just tell me when you're ready.**

_Thank you._

* * *

**A/N: Wow, that chapter was a doozy, eh? **

**Haha, thanks for reading! You got your Ichigo and Rukia fluff in there for a little while…until they had to get all angst-ridden and stuff like that at the end; a LOT of thinking in this chapter.**

**Now that Ichigo and Ellie know each other, what'll happen?! Who knows!? XD**

**Thanks for reading (once again) and please, please, **_**please**_**, REVIEW.**

* * *


	7. Passing Out Important Information::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs are in BOLD. Rukia's are** _italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in** _italics_**.**

* * *

"What's with the sad face, Kurosaki?" Rukia asked, as she brought him another drink. "You don't seem very happy today, like you usually are. What's going on?"

He picked it up and sipped it a bit before answering. After letting the bitter liquid run down his throat he replied, "You wouldn't want to know."

Rukia giggled. "Try me."

Ichigo sighed and set down his drink. In the distance he could hear the faint sound of a sports announcer, broadcasting the latest update on some miscellaneous game. There were flashing lights behind the bar, promoting several different types of alcoholic beverages. He could hear the regulars talking in the background. And there was Rukia, her face etched with worry, standing in front of him.

He had never really noticed how pretty Rukia was until now. She had longer, black hair that was pulled up in a ponytail; one thick strand of hair that fell in front of her face, giving her a mysterious aura. She was very short; if he stood up, she would probably only go to his mid-chest or so. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a collared, dark-green t-shirt which had the bar's logo printed across it. The most enticing thing about her was her eyes. They were bright violet with just a hint of blue.

He felt guilty that he hadn't really paid much attention to her before. It was like Chapp14 had some kind of weird affect on her. Well, besides wanting to meet her more than anything and thinking about her 24/7, Ichigo really hadn't looked at anyone.

He had never wanted to be in a relationship; therefore, he never really paid much attention to girls. Now, that he was head over heels _'in love'_ with a girl, he couldn't help himself to the one aspect, among many, that he had been missing.

Right now, he was fully enjoying it.

"Kurosaki?!" he yelled, throwing a rag at him. He broke away from his useless thoughts to look back up at her. She was glaring at him mysteriously and he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but did you say you wanted to hear my problems?" he teased lightly. She blushed lightly and playfully hit him across the arm.

"You wish, Kurosaki," she retorted, crossing her arms. "I never said I wanted to hear your problems, I merely suggested that you let me help you. I don't know about you, but you're kinda a downer tonight. And that's, what, your third beer? I'm going to have to throw you out soon." She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, fine. I'll tell you," he gave in. She leaned over the counter in anticipation. He smirked at her and then tried to explain his problem without letting on that he didn't actually know his problem in person. "Well…uh, it's a girl."

"Ooo," Rukia immediately interrupted. "So, you finally took my advice and got laid! Nice, Kurosaki. So, who is she?"

He glared at her, trying to suppress a blush that seemed to creep up on him. "No, I haven't gotten laid nor laid anyone. You're such a pervert!" She giggled but didn't speak. "Anyway, I think I 

said something to upset her. I just—I really wanted to, um, take her to meet my family and she wasn't too cool with the idea. She wanted to…she just has a lot of school work and crap right now. Lately, she hasn't been talking to me as much as she used to. I-I'm not sure what I did wrong. You're a girl, maybe you can help."

Rukia lifted a finger to her chin as she pretended to think of the right words to tell him her advice. Truthfully, she had already figured out the answer to his problem; but watching him squirm like a fish separated from water proved to be most entertaining.

"Hm," she finally answered. Ichigo leaned forward, eager to find out her solution. "I think that you should slow things down a bit," she said seriously. "I bet the girl thinks you're going too fast and she just wants you to calm down a bit and relax. She just wants you to enjoy the ride."

It was easy for Rukia to solve such a problem because of a certain SoulSlayer. Over the past few weeks, he had tried to get things back to normal, she knew, but it was somehow – _different_ between them now. It was harder to find things to talk about, which seemed odd considering that they would be up half the night, talking about little random things. Now, Rukia went to bed regularly at around ten-thirty rather than three in the morning.

Rukia wanted it to go back to where it was. But she couldn't help but to feel uncomfortable around the guy now. She knew how much he wanted to meet her. She wanted to meet him to, badly…but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want her fantasy SoulSlayer617 to be corrupted by some ugly, greasy, forty-year-old man. She wanted to keep her image and she wanted him to be perfect like a knight in shining armor.

Rukia knew she was being silly and unrealistic, but she couldn't help but dream. She truly enjoyed SoulSlayer617's company, but, in the end, she knew if she met him, he'd be a huge disappointment.

Was it selfish of her to not want another disappointment in her life? Was she just plain stupid for thinking there was someone out there who cared about her opinions, her life, her goals, her dreams? Was she really that _stupid_?

Several times before, Rukia had opened herself up to disappointment; she had taken that risk to be happy, even if just for a few days, months, or years longer. First, she had let her sister get married to Byakuya; Hisana had told her if she didn't like Byakuya, even though she was only six at the time, she wouldn't get married to him. Seeing how happy her sister looked when she looked at Byakuya was good enough for Rukia. She had yes; her sister died three years later. Byakuya had closed up, shut every good thing off from her, and she had been miserable.

Then, there had been the two years of her rebellion. That sure had been the hardest and saddest two years of her life. She had lived in her car and then, finally, into a shabby apartment ran by the two nicest and hard-working people; Kaien and Miyako Shiba. But, then…on that night, when they had both been—_murdered_, Rukia couldn't help but to pack her heart away.

No, she didn't want to ever be disappointed; not after she had lost so much when she tried to be happy.

"I guess you're right," he sighed, brining Rukia out of her raging thoughts. "I'll just—give her some time. I really hope she realizes how crazy I am though, right now."

Rukia smiled. "I bet she does. She's a girl after all, we know everything."

Ichigo got up and smiled kindly back at her. He set a twenty dollar bill on the counter. Rukia was about to say that his bill was only twelve dollars when he said it was for the quick therapy lesson.

"Thanks, Kurosaki," Rukia said.

"No problem."

He was walking to the door when Rukia called out to him. "Hey, Kurosaki!" He turned around, waiting for her to continue. "If you want more of my advice, I'd say, do something or take a class that she likes doing or is taking. If she likes fishing, take her fishing. What is her major?"

"She loves writing," was his immediate answer.

"Then take a writing class, it might make help you understand her better, not to mention, it'll get your head out of those damn biology books." She grinned after him.

He said is thanks and raised a hand, saying goodbye. Rukia watched him go and went over to the cash register to get her tip. Suddenly, she was eloped in a huge hug from behind. Knowing exactly who it was, she gasped, "Can't…breathe—Rangiku-san…"

"Oh, sorry!" the strawberry-blonde manager said and let her go. Rukia turned around to face her boss who was dressed in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and very revealing shirt. "I just have to know," the woman said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Who is that hottie? You two seemed to be getting pretty comfy over there."

Rukia was confused. "You mean Kurosaki Ichigo? Oh, he's just a regular. He only comes in on Mondays because that's supposedly the worst day of the week to him. We talk; he's pretty cool." Rukia could see the mischievous look in Matsumoto's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I think he likes you."

"Oh, please, he has a girlfriend."

"Hey, what happens at 'Drink with Matsu' stays at 'Drink with Matsu.' Hey, and I think, you think he's pretty sexy yourself. Am I right?"

Rukia blushed. "No," she said immediately. Matsumoto gave her a stern look and Rukia broke eye-contact. "Okay, he's pretty cute. There, happy?"

Matsumoto clasped her hands together. "Yes, now I'm very happy!"

* * *

They had decided to meet at the same diner they had mistakenly met nearly two weeks ago. The time they were assembling was 7 p.m. They were going to discuss what was to come next in their plans to get Ichigo and Rukia together; the plan that had brought them closer together. After all, Inoue now had Ishida, Ellie had Renji, and even Ishida and Renji were not fighting as normally as they usually did. Now, if only their lonely, pitiful-idiotic friends would do the same.

"Why are we here exactly?" Ishida asked lowly, glaring over at Renji. He had planned to take Inoue out on a date tonight, their very first date. But, when Inoue got the call from Ellie, she had immediately wanted to go help. Rukia was her friend after all, he couldn't deny that. Rukia was a close acquaintance to Ishida as well, but, still, _he had wanted to go on that date!_

"Well," Renji glared right back. "We're going on our next step of: _Get the Two Idiots Together_ plan. I know that Ellie now has a class with Ichigo and you, Ishida, have a class with Kuchiki. Yesterday, I came up with the perfect plan to get them together quicker. After all, Ichigo still wants to go to America for the rest of his life. Who knows when he'll actually pack up and go?"

Ellie was not watching Renji. Instead, she was looking out the window, staring at the rain falling down from the weeping heavens. For the past few weeks or so, she had Ichigo partnered up and all he could ever talk about was leaving for America. Never had he mention Chappi14, never had he mentioned anything except science and America. Ellie didn't really want to see him go, because, if he did, goodbye went the brother she never had, and her lab partner.

Inoue and Ishida scrunched their faces in confusion. "What is it?" Inoue asked, leaning forward. "I mean, the plan, Renji. What are we going to do next?"

Renji smirked. "Alright, here's the plan…"

* * *

Professor Yamamoto rose from his seat like a hibernating bear from a long winter break. It sounded almost as if his bones creaked as his still posture was straightened. Rukia passed a glance at Ishida, whom was sitting next to her, hoping that maybe, he too, had heard the noise as well.

He was staring at her in the corner of his eye, smirking.

She shook her head, trying to stifle a laugh. Before she had any time to make a witty comment, her professor spoke, "Today, you will beginning a project to help you comprehend the latest material, which most of you have been having problems with." He glared at Rukia; she bit her lip and looked away.

The truth was Yamamoto had been glaring ever since the day she had been caught IMing SoulSlayer617. He even glared at Ishida when Rukia had started working and sitting by him. Rukia used to tease Ishida about not being teacher's pet anymore but he wouldn't get all riled up like Kurosaki usually did; he just smirked a pushed his glasses up.

"The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of utilitarianism and to provide a way for students to apply this ethical theory to real life situations," he explained. Alarmed, Rukia looked over to Ishida for help. Though she loved writing, trying to understand an old geezer like Yamamoto was next to impossible to understand. He talked like a text book and looked like an old, _evil_ Santa Claus.

Rukia sighed.

"You may work with one partner. This assignment will be due by Friday, February 16. There are information packets on the end of my desk. Pick one up as you leave. Class dismissed."

Rukia and Ishida picked up their books as well as a packet on the way out of class. Walking together, they headed toward the parking lot right outside the building. "So," Rukia said, staring down at her paper. "Do you want to work on this together?"

Ishida moved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, so the sun reflected off the lenses. "Sure," he replied.

"Good. So, we have to … do what now? Something with utilitarianism … I realize that much; besides that—I've got nothing."

"Ah, so you're cheating off of me."

Rukia blushed. "_No_," she replied harshly. "We can work in partners and, considering the fact that you've probably never had a partner before in your life, I thought I would be the selfless one and ask you to be my partner."

Ishida smirked and shook his head. "Yeah right, Kuchiki." He paused. "But, for the lack of my attention span to such trivial arguments, I say _fine_. I'll be happy to work with you."

She snorted. "You better be," she said.

By this time, they had reached their parking lot. Rukia's car was over two cars from Ishida's car. They stood right in the middle of their parting destinations and stood in awkward silence. "So, when should we start working?" Rukia asked, not being able to stand the silence any longer.

"Well," Ishida mused. "I can't work tonight … I have – um, something else I have to do"—Rukia was about to tease him about what he had to do but decided against it because he went right on—"So, how about I give you my phone number and you give me yours, then, I can call you tomorrow to figure about a schedule."

Rukia agreed. She handed her cell phone over to him and he did the same. After typing in their phone numbers, they reversed the action—handing them back to each other.

"Well, I guess I'll see you soon," Rukia stated, walking backwards toward her car. "See ya, Ishida." She waved a bit and then turned around fully, heading off to her car.

"You too, Rukia," Ishida said, smirking. "You too."

* * *

Ellie hit the 'send' button on her phone, while trying to pay attention to the new group project that her class was getting. Renji continuously texted her, asking when she was about ready to start the plan. Her phone was vibrating off the hook and she was just about to boiling point.

When her phone vibrated again, she growled. Ichigo, whom was sitting next to her and was fully paying attention, even looked away from the fury in her snarl.

"What's up?" he asked in concern, leaning over to her.

"Nothing—just, _stuff_," she replied.

He snorted. "As in Renji-_stuff_, or other-_stuff_?" he smirked and she turned bright red. He chuckled. "I'll take that as a Renji-stuff. Is he being an idiot again?"

"You could say that …"

They rolled their eyes at each other and then returned their attention back to Professor Kurotsuchi. After another twenty minutes of lecturing/babbling, he passed out a packet to every student in the class. He was explaining the same project he had been for an hour, and, since Ellie knew it was a partner-thing, she hoped Ichigo was taking notes on what they were going to do.

After class, they headed toward the exit together, engulfed in a comfortable silence. Too bad it didn't last any longer than the trip out the door. "So," Ellie said. "When do we need to start working on this project?"

"Well, it's due Friday," he replied. "We should start working on it soon. Who knows what more homework we'll get this week. How about we start working on it tomorrow?"

Ellie nodded. "Sure," she said. "Here, give me your phone. I'll put my number in here just in case something happens and either you or I can't make it." Ichigo handed his over and she handed hers. "You can put your number in mine … then, we can, well, you know, contact one another."

Ichigo nodded. She seemed really weird today. First, with the whole, "I'm-going-kill-Renji-if-he-doesn't-stop-texting-me" thing and now, she was being all jittery with the whole phone thing. What was the big deal anyway? It's not like they were going out or something … it was just a project.

Ellie finished and handed Ichigo back his phone and he did the same. "See ya," she said quickly, already backing up toward her car. "I have something I have to do tonight. So, I'll talk to you later!" She turned around and started jogging toward her car.

Ichigo raised a hand and waved. Then, he headed back to his own car, still wondering why Ellie was acting so strangely.

* * *

"So, how did the plan go?" Inoue asked, as soon as Ellie had gotten comfortable on her side of the booth. "It was today, right? When did the plan become 'in action'?"

Ellie sighed and sipped her water. "Well," she said. "After class Ichigo and I were walking back to our cars and I told him that I couldn't work on our project together but I said that we should swap phone numbers, you know, just in case. So we did."

Inoue squealed in delight and Ellie smiled lightly. Ishida had already told them that his side of the scheme and, now, they were waiting for the mastermind of the plan to speak.

They all looked toward Renji.

"It's perfect!" he yelped. "Ellie, Ishida, you guys were great! This plan has to work now!"

* * *

The next day, in Rukia's journalism class, she was trying to pay attention. For some reason, maybe because it was Tuesday or something, but, she really didn't feel like paying attention. So, she amused herself with doodling on her paper. She already knew all this stuff anyway. What was the point of paying attention now?

She yawned; those late nights talking to SoulSlayer617 were really hitting her all of a sudden. She was exhausted, part of the reason why she was willingly not paying attention to her Professor.

Professor Shihōin coughed and Rukia looked up; she was staring straight at her. Blushing, Rukia looked away. She thought that Professor Shihōin would continue her lesson, but she didn't. Instead, she said, "Okay, now, I want to introduce a new student to our class. He is hoping to become a doctor, but he decided to take this class for experience."

Rukia's head perked up. If they had a new student, that meant she wouldn't be considered the freak anymore. The New Girl.

She would be just another normal, low-life of the class. She grinned.

"Class, meet Ichigo Kurosaki, our new student!" said Professor Shihōin. Rukia's eyes widened as she watched him and his trademark scowl; he raised a hand and then, searched the room for a vacant seat.

When his eyes met Rukia's, he smiled and waved. She managed to smile back and motion for him to sit down next to her.

He came and, when he was finally settled in his seat and Professor Shihōin returned to her lecture on profiles, Rukia leaned over and whispered, "When I said go find a class that she would probably take, I meant like an English class! Not Intro to Newspaper!"He grinned.

"Get used to it Kuchiki. I'm going to be here for a while."

He smirked.

She glared.

* * *

Rukia was about ready to go to bed when her phone vibrated. She looked up from her soft and comfortable pillow, and looked over to her phone. Confused as to why someone would want to talk to so late, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Groaning, she rolled out of bed. Hitting the floor with a 'thud' she crawled over to her desk and picked up her phone. Like she had suspected, someone had texted her. Opening up her phone, she gasped, her eyes went wide.

The person sending her the text was SoulSlayer617. "Oh my God," she whispered. Hitting the 'receive' button, she looked at the message.

**Hey, somehow, I got this number on my phone. Is this really Chappi14?**

Rukia gasped. How had he gotten her number? What had happened? She never gave it to him. What if he found out who she was and raped her? What if … "Oh God," she whispered again. _Should I reply?_ She thought. _Well … I know that I trust him, oh, what the hell?_

She hit the 'reply' button and quickly texted. _Yeah, it's me. Somehow, I got your number on here as well. I'm not really sure how … You don't know who I am right?_

The next message came not two minutes later.

**No, I don't know who you are. I just was looking for a friend of mine's number in my phone book and I saw your name. It was weird … do you know who I am?**

_No way! I wouldn't do that!_ She replied.

**I didn't think so. What do you want to do? I mean, I can delete your number if you don't like this … it's no big deal.**

Rukia didn't want that. No way. Though she was terrified and a bit hysteric, she was pretty excited that she could talk to him any time she wanted.

_No. Let's keep our numbers. But, you have to promise me that you won't try and go find me somewhere. Promise?_

She was lying in her bed by now, waiting for his last text. She knew that she was getting in too deep with this guy/rapist, but, she could not help it. It was so exciting giving her number to a complete stranger; even if she didn't actually give it away.

**Yeah. Sounds good. It's a promise then.**

* * *

**A/N: Again, sorry about the late update! I want to thank all my reviewers! You guys rock! ! I hope to hear from you soon!**

**By the way, I have a poll now in my profile! Please please PLEASE check it out! Well on that note I have to say,**

**PLEASE REVIEW & s****ee ya!**

* * *


	8. The People We've Lost::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs (and text messages) are in BOLD. Rukia's are **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

_March_

It was yet another all-nighter on Rukia's part. Not only, being the procrastinator which she was dubbed, was she working on her project that was due the next day for biology, but she was also having a very deep conversation about all the things she and SoulSlayer617 were deprived of as children (for him, it was having to watch his baby sisters and not go outside; for her, it was having to go to English lessons rather than getting to play with her friends).

**Ah, yours is twice as bad as mine. I'd rather watch my sisters a thousand times over than learn English as a seven-year-old**, he had IM'd her. She laughed.

_Yeah, it sucked; but hey, now I can go anywhere practically. Spirits know that English people can't possibly learn another language. They always have signs, menus, crap like that, in English_, she replied.

**Haha. Quite insightful, are we?**

_You know it._

Rukia shook her head down at her computer. It was like she knew him forever almost; he was sarcastic but sweet, cruel but caring. He was everything she was looking for, in a way, he was almost like her best friend; he didn't judge her because he didn't even _know_ her. No one _knew_ her the way best friends should.

**Whatcha thinking about?** The message came a few minutes later. Somehow, Rukia knew that he knew she was thinking about him and about meeting him … just like she always did.

_I'm thinking about what I should tell you next,_ she replied. It was an honest answer, yet, she already knew what she wanted to tell him. _I know you think I'm crazy, _she wrote. _But, there's a reason, I haven't tracked you down yet. I mean, you know just about everything about me; none of my "closest" friends know most of what I lay on your shoulders every day …_

**What is it? What's wrong?**

She hesitated. Should she tell him?

_After high school, in order to start breathing outside of my brother's walls, I ran away from home. I lived in my car for six months before earning enough money to rent out a one-room apartment from the two nicest people in the world._

Rukia went on, describing how great Kaien and Miyako were and how they helped through the years. How Miyako would hold her as she cried and Kaien would threaten any guy who dared to even look at her while she was in front of their building.

She felt like a huge burden had been taken off of her shoulders by telling him her two years of absence from the rest of the world. How wonderful those two years were … that is, until that day. That 

day … Rukia bowed her head in front of her keyboard and typed five words, five tears falling as she did so.

_That is, until they died._

* * *

Ichigo looked down at his computer screen, stuffing, what seemed to be, buckets and buckets of popcorn into his mouth. Reading Chappi14's message, as she poured her inner most secret out to him, was worth more than just granola bars or chocolate ice cream.

She was telling her story like a _freakin'_ movie. She was telling it in so much detail that he could practically see the shabby building with the gangs living on either side, down in the deep, scary alleyways. He could picture her crappy room and her stiff bed, the place where she had slept for nearly a year and a half. He could see the bright faces of her landlords, a husband and wife. He could picture her clearly (well, his dream-girl clearly), crying her eyes out as the landlady brushed her hair away from her eyes and told her everything was going to be okay. He could picture her landlord threatening obvious drunks from an upper window.

He could picture her life clearly.

If only he could picture her.

Ichigo sighed as she continued to message him. She went on explaining how great it had been until … that night. What had happened that night? What Ichigo read next shocked him.

_That is, until they died._

Ichigo gasped. What had happened? Why did it happen? They seemed like such good people, why would something like this ever happen to people like them … to people like _her_. Slowly, numbly he typed his raging questions and she answered them.

How could something like this happen to her?

When she finished telling her story, he couldn't be any more shocked … or disappointed in himself. Why had he pushed her to meet him? Why was he so selfish? If he really loved this girl, which he was _certain_ that he might, then why hadn't he sensed that she was hurting like this? Why couldn't he tell that she was in so much pain?

Some "in love" man he was. Some friend, some man … some person, whom didn't realize how hard she had had it. Way to go, Ichigo, he growled to himself. Why did you do that to her? Why were you only thinking of yourself when you couldn't realize that it's not just you who has had a crappy life.

_Way to be Ichigo_, he thought bitterly. What were you hoping for? What are you scared of? You, Kurosaki Ichigo, the guy who wants to go live in some strange country and the guy who doesn't even have the guts to learn the language?

**Can I tell you my story?** He wrote without thinking. He needed to tell her that she wasn't the only one suffering. He had to tell her … that he lost the one person that meant most to him only two years before. He had to tell her.

_Of course. What is it?_

And so, Ichigo went on explaining how wonderful Masaki Kurosaki, his mother, was. How she cared for everyone she met, how she actually _married_ his father, and what a wonderful nurse she was to the patients; loving and gentle, to even the most rude of people.

And then, he went to that night in early summer when those two men had taken his mother's life and he didn't do a _damn_ thing about it. He had just stood there, terrified. He was nineteen years old and he couldn't _do_ anything! He never used her name or what she did, he couldn't, but he didn't hold much past that.

He needed her to know that he was going to be there for her. Even if he never had the chance to meet her, even if he went to America, he would always be there.

* * *

Rukia groggily walked into her Intro to Newspaper class. Professor Shihōin glanced up from her paperwork when Rukia entered the classroom and nodded in her direction. Rukia smiled in return at her and headed up the middle row of steps, to reach her normal seat three rows down from the top.

There were just a few students in the classroom, Kurosaki Ichigo included. He looked up from the—seemed to be biology … again—homework and smiled in her direction. She smiled back and sat down next to him. "So, Kurosaki," she said, leaning over to looked down at his homework. Silky, black pieces of hair fell down and tickled his forearm but Rukia didn't seem to notice, but Ichigo sure had noticed. "Working on bio again? What are you, some kind of robot?"

He chuckled and so did she. Then, she sat back up and stared at the front of the classroom where Professor Shihōin was currently writing on a long blackboard that stretched from one end of the front wall to the other. In big, bold writing read the words "PROFILES TODAY!"

Rukia inwardly grinned. Writing people's profiles happened to be her favorite type of feature story. She loved making people squirm (even though you weren't supposed to do that) when she asked them all kinds of random questions about their family, their past, what they wanted out of their lives, etc.

"Ugh, profiles?" Ichigo groaned from beside her. "I could hardly write the regular features let alone about someone's past!" He held his head in his hands and Rukia leaned over; she rested a hand on his back and rubbed it sympathetically. She was blushing slightly; after all, she had never touched any man like this before.

"You'll do fine," she whispered. "Just … well, try to find out something interesting about the person. If you think their interesting, someone else is bound to agree with you; you just have to tell the story, Ichigo."

He looked over to her and she saw that he was blushing too. She removed her hand from his back and looked away. "Thanks," she heard him whisper. "You give really good advice … Even if you are freakishly small."

She smiled sweetly, but stomped her foot on his. He cringed but didn't break his smirk. "No problem, Kurosaki," she said. "No charge for the therapy lesson. I just might have to spike your drink the next time you come into the bar."

"You know … there's a bar down the street. I could easily go there. What is it called again? Oh! I remember! "Drink with Hisagi!" Right?"

Rukia glowered. "If you go to that copy cat's bar I swear I'll go kick your ass." The phrase "If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now," really came into play in this situation.

He grinned. Before he could reply, however, Professor Shihōin started class. "Alright idiots! Calm down and grab a seat! Quickly before Kurosaki and Kuchiki over there start making out or something!"

Rukia and Ichigo both blushed and looked away from each other. The professor smirked while other kids, who seemed to have entered the class at about the same time, snickered and turned around to look at them. Rukia scooted away from Ichigo and glared at most of the kids staring; they recoiled quickly.

Ichigo took care of the rest.

After the class died down, they all looked back at Professor Shihōin and she continued on with her lesson. After explaining that each student needed to choose a partner and needed to interview them, get an interesting angle for their story, and write the thing by that next Tuesday.

Despite the many "woot!" and "ooo" calls people kept giving them, Ichigo and Rukia immediately partnered up with each other, though they tried to do it as nonchalantly as they could manage. "So, do you want to ask questions first or should I?" Ichigo asked, blushing and glaring down at his piece of notebook paper.

Rukia smiled softly. "Since you're so nervous about this project, I'll go first and then maybe you can get some questions in your head. Okay?"

Ichigo nodded.

Rukia quickly grabbed a piece of notebook paper and quickly scribbled down a few questions that she knew would hit Ichigo in a soft spot. She knew she could do this. She had to get a good story out of someone even as boring as Kurosaki.

"Okay, ready?" she asked. He nodded. "First question: what do you remember most about being a kid such as a person, place, a memory?"

"My mom."

Rukia scribbled down his response. "Why your mom?" she asked.

"I don't really know," he responded. "My mom was everything to me when I was younger. My mom always made all the bad dreams go away and all the cuts to heal. She was always smiling; never once did she frown or lash out like other parents might. She was … my mom."

Rukia wrote down what he said. For a soon-to-be-doctor, he gave some pretty damn fine quotes. "You said 'was everything to me,'" she went on. "What do you mean 'was'? What happened to her?"

Ichigo hesitated. Was it right to tell her? He had told Chappi14, sure, but she was someone who couldn't hurt him. He didn't even know her. But, he would have to face Rukia for the rest of the year; could he deal with it? Hopefully, she wouldn't feel pity him. That's all he needed: one more person to feel sorry for him.

"She died," he answered, surprising himself. She asked what happened. Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "She … she was killed by these two guys who were trying to steal from the clinic my dad owns." Rukia gasped, but continued writing.

—**Flashback: Two Years Before—**

—**Ichigo POV—**

"_Hey Mom, do you need any help?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. My mom was hovering over the stove, stirring some kind of concoction in a large pot. She was always mixing different ingredients and, yet, even though they looked not-so-great, they were really delicious._

_"No, my little college man," she replied, giving me her award-winning smile. She giggled at my scowling face. "Now, Ichigo, I've always told you that scowling doesn't look so good on you!"_

_"Well," I replied. "If you wouldn't call me 'little college man' I might not be scowling as much." I was teasing her and she knew it. Pouting, she looked away, acting as if she was truly hurt. "Aw, Mom, don't be like that. I was just kidding."_

_I walked up to her and she turned around, smiling again. "I know, sweetie." The doorbell rang in the distance. "Oh! Is this a girlfriend, maybe? I know your father, and I for that matter, were hoping to meet a nice college girl soon."_

_She winked at me as we both headed toward the door. "Nah, I don't have any girlfriends. I'm too busy studying!" She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm looking, Mom. No worries; I'll bring home some _lucky_ girl, sometime."_

_She smiled and opened the door. I saw them before she did and my eyes widened. She looked at me strangely before turning towards our guests, which happened to be two masked men with guns pointed directly in her face._

_"Move, lady," the bigger one sneered. My mother moved instantly and so did I. I saw that she was trembling and rushed to her side._

_The smaller one came up to my mom and came so close to her I thought he might sexually assault her, but he didn't. Instead he whispered, "Where are the goods?"_

_His mother was breathing hard. If I knew where the 'goods' were I would have already answered for her, but she whispered, "I – I won't tell you."_

_The man slapped her across the face. I was about ready to attack him, to kill him right then and there, when my mother stopped me. "Don't Ichigo," she told me. "You are not a part of this."_

_"M-mom!" I said loudly. "He just slapped you! What the hell do you expect me to do? You can't just expect me to stand around and not do anything!" In the distance there was the sound of breaking glass and the opening of doors._

_I thanked God my sisters and father were at Karin's soccer game._

_"Tell me," the man said._

_My mother shook her head._

_He brought up the gun and slammed it into her head. She fell over to the floor and I attacked. I punched the man in the face. He lost his grip on his gun and it scattered across the floor. I was _

_going to grab it but the guy didn't give up so easily. He wrapped his arms around my legs and pulled me back on the ground._

_My chin met the floor and it took all my willpower not to cry out. My mother was screaming for me to stop, that I needed to get away, that I didn't need to be there. I didn't listen to her; I kept beating the guy, punching, kicking, and he did the same._

_Then, there was gunshot._

_Time slowed down, I remember it. I saw the big guy with a bag full of my family's stuff. He was holding up the gun and his hand was shaking. Even though he was wearing a mask, I could see how big his eyes were._

_I looked down in front of me._

_That bullet … it was meant for me. But, but I wasn't hurt. It was … she had thrown herself out in front of me … _Mom_._

_"M-mom," I whispered; my breathing was erratic, my fists were trembling. My eyes were wet and my face was drenched with my tears and … and something else. Blood. My mother's blood._

_I immediately detached myself from the man and turned my mother over. She had been shot in the shoulder, I could tell from the blood seeping from the wound. She was coughing up blood; her eyes looked distant._

_Sometime during those few seconds, the robbers took their bag of goodies and had ran off, to wherever the hell they came from._

_"Mom!" I cried over and over again._

_"I-Ichigo …" she whispered. She took a few shaky breaths before continuing. "My son, I am very proud of you … You and your father and Karin and Yuzu." She took three more breaths. I couldn't speak. "I am so lucky to have had all those years with you …"_

_"Mom, don't talk … I-I can help you …"_

_"And I know that because of the love that all of you share," she went on as if I had never spoke. I could still feel more and more tears fall down my cheeks. "You will _always_ keep the family together and strong … even without me."_

_"Mom! Stop, no! You're going to be fine!"_

_"Ichigo … live on my son." I could see her eyes starting to look even further away, like there was something she could see that I could not. "Live with strength and kindness and never lose that smile … the smile you always wore when you looked at me."_

_My mother drew her final breath and looked at me and said, "Ichigo, thank you for loving me." And then, then she closed her eyes for the last time and fell into eternal sleep._

_And all I could do … was weep. And it seemed, that was all the sky could do as well._

—**End Flashback—**

Rukia set down her pencil and tried not to cry onto her notebook. She looked up at Ichigo, her eyes full of tears. "I-I," she stuttered. "I … I'm sorry." She couldn't think of anything else to say. She didn't know how comfort him.

The story was so … shocking. And yet—she had heard it before. But where was it? Her eyes widened as he looked down at her, confused.

SoulSlayer617 had told her pretty much the same exact story. Yes, she remembered it clearly now. He had said his mother was murdered by two robbers. He told her words that were almost the same as what she now had written down on paper.

Could it be …?

She dismissed the thought quickly. No way was Kurosaki Ichigo SoulSlayer617. Kurosaki was kind, yes but he was determined and sometimes a bit selfish with his intention of leaving to America … of course now, Rukia could understand why he wanted to go. He wanted to get away.

"It's okay," he muttered. "That day changed my life … I-I'm not the same, stupid college kid I was two years ago. I'm a lot different." Rukia nodded. "Do you have any more questions?" he added his voice brightening back up.

"Um … no, I think that covers it. Are you ready to ask yours?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I thought of a couple new ones." After saying to just go already, Ichigo took a deep breath and asked, "I know that you're twenty-two and a sophomore here at the University. How did that happen? What happened during those two years that you weren't going to school?"

Rukia's eyes widened for a second time in the matter of about ten minutes. He had to ask her that. She knew that her past might not bring up wonderful memories but she thought he wouldn't stumble on something as _horrible_ as that night … those men … Kaien and Miyako.

_But_, she told herself. He's had a similar past. If anyone could understand what you're going through, it's Ichigo Kurosaki. Tell him.

"I was on a two year rebellion streak."

"Oh really? What happened during those two years?" he asked, writing down the answer that she gave to him before.

"I was working at a fast food joint and living in a one-room apartment with the nicest people in the world. They sheltered me and cared for me … just like I was their own daughter."

"Who were they?" Ichigo asked, not looking up from his paper.

"Their names were Kaien and Miyako Shiba. They were husband and wife and helped kids like me get up and going in their lives. I was actually the only resident while they were still there …"

"They left? What happened?"

She looked up at Ichigo, who was still looking down at his paper. When his pencil stopped moving, he looked up at her and saw how red her eyes looked; whether it was from tears or exhaustion, Ichigo didn't know.

"They didn't leave, Ichigo. They were killed.

—**Flashback: Two Years Before—**

—**Rukia POV—**

_I was walking home from work that night after a double-shift at the local diner. I was tired and greasy and my clothes were dirty. I was ready to take a shower and sleep._

_I was not expecting to run into drunks._

_And yet, I did. There were five of them, all stoned and intoxicated and already acting stupid. They were calling out to me, asking me if I wanted to do certain activities with them. I didn't look at them. I just wanted to get home and go to bed … maybe Miyako will have cookies or something, I thought randomly._

_I walked two blocks before I heard the footsteps. Five pairs of footsteps were following me. I turned around and saw them briskly walking after me. I turned back around and, as soon as I rounded a corner, I sprinted back home._

_Only … I didn't quite make it._

_Those men not only had longer legs than I did, but they were faster too. They caught up to me in a flash and threw me up against a wall. I tried to scream, but, the one that seemed to be the leader covered my mouth. I could feel them touching me, groping me … putting their dirty mouths on my legs … my bare legs. What had happened to the pants I was wearing?_

_I kicked and yelled and finally, I fell silent._

_I waited until they were done doing what they pleased … I still don't quite remember what that was … and then, they were gone. I was in the middle of the street, my clothes ripped and tears were falling down like rain._

_Maybe it was the actual rain, because I could feel that too. I opened my eyes and stood up, feeling the cool liquid run down my head and shoulders. I was so sore. I knew they had done so many assaulting things to me, yet, none of them ever entered me … and for that I was grateful._

_Before they could come back and finish the job, I started running back to Kaien and Miyako. The only thing I could picture was their smiling faces, her warm cookies, and his all-knowing eyes. I was still crying and I was smiling because of the love I felt towards them._

_Upon reaching the apartment, I ran upstairs, not hearing the ten feet running to catch up with me. I didn't care at that point. I just wanted to go home—and see my family._

_I ran to their door, room number 13, and pounded on the door. Miyako opened it and seeing how dirty and wet and tear-stained I was, she let me inside and I collapsed in her arms. I let out a cry and she led me over to her couch. At this point, Kaien had come in and helped his wife get me over to the couch._

_Together, they held me and I told them about everything._

_And then, there was another knock—I mean _pound_—on the door. I clutched onto Miyako and whispered, "T-that's t-th-them … Please, don't answer it."_

_Kaien shook my shoulder reassuringly. "I called the police, Rukia. It's probably them." I thought … then why don't I hear sirens? But I didn't ask. I watched him go._

_I realize now I should have said something._

_He opened the door and was hit over the head with a gun. I screamed and Miyako cried out as her husband fell to the ground. She moved out in front of me and used herself to shield me. "Don't come any closer," she said. "The police are coming. Get your filthy asses out of here."_

_Those were the most hurtful words I had ever heard Miyako say. She was protecting me; gaining time for the police._

_It didn't help her._

_The police never got on the scene on time._

_There was a sound of a gun and I felt blood spatter all over me. Miyako fell backwards, into my arms and I saw my tears roll down my face and onto her cheeks and her eyes were staring back up at me, cold and distant._

_I cried out again. The man was about ready to shoot me as well, if it hadn't been for Kaien. He had come in from behind and grabbed the man, throwing him out of the way. The gun rang as a bullet was fired but it went out the window._

_The other men were trying to kill Kaien as well; but, seeing that his wife was dead, Kaien must have thought he had nothing to lose. He broke their bones, tore their skin, punched, kicked, hit, and fought with the honor he still had left._

_And I watched._

_I clutched onto Miyako's sweater and petting her hair. Her eyes were still staring up at me. I watched and watched … and finally, I yelled, "Kaien! Stop, don't do this! You s-shouldn't!! Please, _stop_! P-pl-please …"_

_He didn't stop. Instead, one man hit him over the head and then another fumbled with a gun and shot him. Kaien fell to the ground. When they realized they had killed two people, the group took off, leaving me behind._

_I didn't want to be left behind. I wanted to die that night. Seeing the two people I loved most in the world, die trying to protect me was worse than anything that could ever happen to me. I was so lost, so broken; and I hadn't even been without them for an hour. How was I supposed to get through the rest of my life?_

_I gently laid Miyako's head down on the couch and crawled over to Kaien. I was surprised … he was still breathing. Quickly feeling most of mine pain go away, hoping that I could still save one of the best things that happened to me, I said, "Kaien … does that mean you're—"_

_"Rukia, I apologize to you for getting you involved in all of this in the first place. I know this … was painful … but, thanks to you … I'm saved …" I gasped. How did I save him? I watched him fight while stroking his dead wife's hair. _

"_Now I can … still leave my heart—_here_."_

_And his arm dropped from my face. I didn't remember how it got there. I was clutching onto his t-shirt and digging my fingernails into his skin. He couldn't go … he was right there. _Right here_._

_I cried out. I could hear sirens in the distance. "What did I do?!" I screamed done at him. "I ran here after I-I was hurt! I put you in danger! You're dead, Kaien! No … no! Miyako! K-Kaien …"_

_I started crying very loudly at that point. I dropped my head onto his chest and cried and cried and cried. The rain that had been holding itself back all day started to fall, crying for the two most wonderful people in the world._

_I watched while they both died._

_And what had I done to save them?_

_I had done nothing._

—**End Flashback—**

Rukia ended. She was staring down at her hands, messing with the tips of her fingertips. She wasn't looking up at Ichigo; in fact, she was looking out of the corner of her eye, to the clock. There was only three minutes left in class.

She never thought that telling her story to Kurosaki would be this hard. She had never spoken it verbally before to anyone other than the police. And even then she didn't say as much as she did now. She was gasping for breath and trying not to cry.

"A-anything else?" she asked.

Ichigo looked up from his writing and, when he saw her in such a depressed state, he lowered his eyes. There were two things on his mind at that moment: one thing was that she had called him 'Ichigo' for the first time; the second was that her story sounded almost identical to Chappi14's story from the night before.

He dismissed the thought. There was absolutely no way that Chappi14 and Rukia were the same person. Chappi14 was mysterious and sexy in a way while Rukia was blunt and just … _Rukia_. She wasn't anything, physically-wise, like he pictured his dream girl to be. Besides, he would have known the first time he met her if she was or not.

He finished writing the rest of her quote and they signed each other's papers, for newspaper reasons. Then, Professor Shihōin ended class.

They were heading towards the door when Ichigo spoke, "I'm sorry, Rukia. I didn't know that your life was that hard. I shouldn't have asked …"

"No," she said quickly. They walked through the building and reached the courtyard. "I'm glad you asked. I feels nice … getting that night off my chest. I'm should be apologizing. I'm the one who asked you about your mother. It was none of my business."

Ichigo smiled down at her; she was staring down at the ground in shame and guilt. Then, taking the boldest moment of his life, he reached up and turned her chin so her eyes were looking directly into his.

"I'm glad you did," he whispered, repeating her words. "I've never told anyone outside of the police and my father what exactly happened that night. It feels nice to tell a friend exactly what happened to me and why I've changed so much."

Rukia hadn't noticed how close he was until that moment. Swallowing, she smiled up at him, not ready for the warmth from his palm to her face to go away yet. "Thank you," she said.

He smiled down at her. "You're welcome. And thank you."

"I told you I'd be there," she said, smirking.

He released his hold on her face and started backing away towards his car. Rukia watched as he went, following his every move. He raised a hand up to say bye but not before turning around and saying, "Yeah. And you know that I'll be there for you too."

* * *

**A/N: Well, there's your history chapter! During the planning of this story this chapter and the next chapter are the two I've been looking forward to writing the most. ****Speaking of the next chapter, did you know there are only four more chapters left in this story?! I've been having so much fun writing this that it doesn't seem like the end will come so soon! :'(**

**Buuut, let's not dwell on that now (XDD)! If you haven't checked out my poll (it's the same from last week) please go check it out and vote!!**

**And please: Review!!**


	9. Reason for Mondays::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs and text messages are in BOLD. Rukia's are in **_italics_**. Everyone's thought are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

_April_

Rukia was scrubbing furiously at the counter in the bar. It was Sunday night, and she was on a double-shift … _again_. Stupid college and stupid books and stupid tuition had been driving her up a wall lately. And that wasn't the only thing; Kurosaki was another problem.

She had told herself coming into college that she wasn't going to need friends or relationships besides the necessary people to help her through. So far, Inoue, Ishida, Ellie, and Ichigo were _all_ necessary people. But, they weren't supposed to be. She didn't go to them to get help with math or biology (okay, well Ishida didn't count) and she didn't need them to vent on (well … maybe Inoue a little … and spirits knew she had kind of taken out all of her frustrations on Ellie once, but still!) she never had expected meeting each of them that she would want to spend extra time with them. That was nearly unthinkable!

Despite her original plans though, she enjoyed just being in their company. A few weeks before, right after Ishida and she turned in their paper they wrote together (which they got the highest mark in the class, by the way), Rukia, Inoue, and Ellie had all seen a movie together. It was not something that Rukia particularly wanted to do, but, after they had eaten dinner and were on their way to the movie theater, she realized how much fun she was having.

So, Rukia had accepted that she needed her friends for more than just studying and a few times where she needed to desperately vent on some kind of problem.

She admitted _that_.

But it was a certain _Strawberry_ that decided it was okay to push all of her buttons and then _laugh_ at her when she got mad at him. It was he who she dreamed about at night with his unruly, sunset hair and beautiful, coffee-colored eyes (how she loved his eyes!). She would daydream of what it would feel like to run her fingers through his orange locks and how much she loved gazing into those mysterious eyes.

She did not want to sound like she was in high school anymore. Because she was not; stupid crushes and little butterflies were not important in college. She didn't need, nor did she want, something like a relationship and definitely not one with _Kurosaki_. He was rude, abusive, rash, stupid, caring, gentle, kind, handsome …

_Whoa tiger_, she told herself. That's too many pros. You need to think of some cons. So, while scrubbing furiously at the counter of _Drink with Matsu_, Rukia was debating her love life with herself.

_And what about SoulSlayer617_, she asked herself next. A month ago, you could say that she was head over heels (or vice-versa) for the guy. Now though, she only logged on a few times a week and even _he_ didn't seem so eager to meet her any more.

Did that mean he had a found a girl as well? "You sure are scrubbing the hell out of that counter," someone said from behind her.

Rukia squeaked and whirled around. "Rangiku-san!" she gasped. "You scared me!" The strawberry-blonde with the enormous blessings smirked.

"Well, you were rubbing a hole in my counter with the oddest expression on your face, I had to say something!" she laughed, patting Rukia on the shoulder. When she saw Rukia blushing, she added, "What's going on? Boy trouble?"

The raven-haired bartender sighed. "You could say that," she mumbled, sighing as she rested her head on her palms. "My life is so screwed up right now."

"Why? Is it Kurosaki-kun?" Matsumoto immediately assumed.

Rukia groaned. "Why do you assume that? It could be about Ishida, hell, even my brother. _Romantic_ …" Matsumoto raised an eyebrow and 'pfft'ed. Rukia glared.

"Fine, it's about Kurosaki. Happy?"

Rukia was still glaring as Matsumoto burst out laughing. "Awww," cooed. "My little Rukia is growing up! So, when did you start planning the wedding?"

Turning so red her face was nearly maroon, Rukia went back to washing off the counter with the same ferocity as before. Matsumoto bent over, resting her hands on her knees while trying to shake off the laughter. She had never seen Rukia so mad about a boy before; even one that she _didn't_ like. Of course, Matsumoto could see the spark between her and that orange-haired boy. She could see how much Rukia opened up to him, even if neither she nor he realized it.

She sighed from her thoughts. If only she could make Rukia see how much she truly cared about this boy. But, though she was great at meddling, she knew she could not involve herself in this situation. Rukia had to figure out for herself what she wanted in her life.

If that was Kurosaki … Matsumoto knew that she would get him. After all, the past few Mondays, she could see Kurosaki's eyes gleam when he talked to her. And she could also see how Rukia's face would light up and her lips would curl into a smile when the door jingled at seven every Monday.

_Aw, young love_, she mused to herself.

Deciding to give Rukia a break from teasing, she quickly turned on her heel. "Rukia," she said, before going into the back. Rukia turned around and waited for her boss to continue. "I need you to take the Friday shift … Tatsuki needs the shift tomorrow. She has some kind of karate thing on Friday."

Rukia nodded, "Okay." Secretly though, she was a little disappointed. That meant that tomorrow night she couldn't see Kurosaki. That meant … she had to wait for their next class together and that was at least three days away.

She sighed as she continued to clean off the counter. If she had his number, she could text him and inform him she was not going to be there the next day.

As if someone was listening to her thoughts, her back pocket vibrated; signaling her that she had a text. Pulling out her phone, she saw that it was SoulSlayer617. She smiled subconsciously and immediately felt guilty; something in the back of her head said that she was still thinking of Kurosaki … she quickly thought of the man she was about ready to text.

**Hey**, he had texted, **what are you up to?**

She hit the 'reply' button. _I'm just working. What about you?_

Glancing over to the clock, she noticed that her shift had been over for nearly twenty minutes; that meant she had been cleaning a lot longer than necessary. She had to stop coming to work with problems on her mind.

Sighing for probably the fifth time in the past twenty minutes, she threw the rag in one of the lower counters and snatching her jacket. Slipping it over her shoulders and grabbing her purse she walked out into the brisk March weather.

Her back pocket vibrated again and she briefly wanted it to be Ichigo. Then, after catching her wandering thoughts about his abs, biceps, triceps, and whatever other 'cep' on his body, she quickly answered his text with some kind of sarcastic comment. And somewhere, in the back of her stomach, she still wished it was Ichi—_Kurosaki_ was the one she was talking to.

* * *

The next day at exactly seven o' clock, Ichigo Kurosaki was walking towards _Drink with Matsu_, his journey that he made every week. Though he had seen Rukia that past Wednesday and then Saturday to work on their profiles together, he still always looked forward to Mondays. He and Rukia never always had something to talk about; that was how he used to feel about Chappi14.

Now though, they didn't talk much. Maybe he was getting on with his life. Maybe, he wasn't so 'in love' with her as he thought. Maybe … it was—Rukia.

No! He told himself. No way … Rukia's just, ugh, Rukia. She's stubborn, short, dumb, kind, gentle, caring, beautiful …

_Whoa tiger_, he thought. _Slow down. This is Rukia! Rukia! You don't like her like that, you buffoon! Did I just call myself buffoon … ugh, what is wrong with me?!_

Deciding that he needed to distract himself with something other than the raven-haired wonder, Ichigo pulled out his cell phone and quickly texted a greeting to Chappi14. She was quick to reply and he was glad. He needed someone to talk to who was not the girl always on his mind anymore.

He walked into the bar and was immediately disappointed. When he said that he did not want to think about Rukia … he did not really mean it. He wanted to see her and talk to her. He always liked having her to talk to. Sighing, he went up the counter but didn't sit.

A woman popped up then. She was very pretty with long, strawberry-blonde and giant … He coughed … _blessings_. "Hey, what can I get ya?" she asked sweetly.

He smiled awkwardly. "Um … I was wondering if Kuchiki Rukia was working tonight. She's in one of my classes … I'm usually here on Mondays …?"

The woman smiled. "Oh, yes!" she giggled. "I know who you are, silly! You're Kurosaki Ichigo, Rukia's _favorite_ customer. I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, the boss of this dump called a bar." Ichigo scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I don't really have much of a cover, huh?" he asked.

She laughed. "Not with that hair you don't."

* * *

It was around seven on Friday night, when Rukia showed up at work. She was supposed to be there at seven-thirty but she needed to get ready. She had only worked on a Friday when she first started because Matsumoto had assumed that she wanted to get a boyfriend.

Rukia had quickly told her how much she did _not_ want to on Fridays and Matsumoto moved her working day to Monday. She loved working on Sundays and Mondays and sometimes even Tuesdays. It was the Fridays when alcoholics and perverts came in that really freaked her out.

She was terrified of being hurt. Considering the fact that she put off meeting the guy she wanted to meet most, just because she did not want to be hurt—whether physical or emotional … hell, even mental. She was over-cautious. She was terrified of death.

Rukia did not want to die.

And when she did, she did not want to die with some guy strangling her to death while leaving himself all over her. She wanted to die peacefully and when she was very, _very_ old.

Sighing while trying to clear her head, Rukia slipped her green, work shirt over her head, trying to avoid the clip in which was holding up her hair. Currently, she was in the back of _Drink with Matsu_, getting ready for the evening.

She walked over to the mirror by the door, made sure her hair looked alright. After pinning a few annoying pieces back, she nodded and walked out.

Matsumoto was already skidding drinks down the bar, as piles of men came in, ready to drink and woo her. Though Matsumoto dressed like she was asking for it, she really was not. Rukia did not know who her lover was (the only thing she knew was_ Shūhei_, his name), but she did know how much her boss loved him. She talked about him all the time, about how wonderful, gorgeous, reliable, calm, and did she mention how amazingly _hot_ he was?

Rukia picked up a pen and paper, walking over to the tables who actually wanted food and not just beer. She never really waitressed a lot; besides Matsumoto, she was the head bartender here.

"Hello," she said, coming up to a table with a family consisting of a mother, father, a son, and a daughter, "what can I get you guys to drink?"

After scribbling down their order, she walked behind the bar to retrieve their drinks. "How's it going?" she asked Matsumoto who was filling up yet another glass of beer.

The strawberry-blonde laughed. "It's going alright. Of course, these guys are always really vicious on Fridays. You would think if they wanted it that bad, they would just hire some girl, not flirt with the ones who aren't looking." Rukia smiled and Matsumoto lifted a hand and rested it on her shoulder. "Hey, Rukia … I'm sorry about Monday. I know that you wanted to see Kurosaki-kun that day."

Rukia put on a fake smile. "It's no big deal," she said, waving her off. After setting down the cups of soda on a tray, she added, "I wasn't upset. I just—you know how I feel about Fridays and men in general …"

"Haha, yes, I do. But, if you still feel the same way about men, what does that make Kurosaki? An 'it'?" her boss teased. Though she promised herself she wasn't going to deal with Rukia's problems, but she couldn't resist.

Rukia turned red. Matsumoto laughed. "I'm leaving now!" Rukia pronounced loudly and started walk back over to the table until a man grabbed her arm.

"Hey cutie, where are ya from?" he asked, his words slurred and his breath smelled like alcohol. But that wasn't what scared Rukia the most about this man. He looked; he looked so familiar … and he did not look just like Ichigo _exactly_ …

_But_, he looked like Kaien.

* * *

Ichigo yawned and knocked on the front door of Ishida's/Renji's apartment. The latter opened the door and was grinning cockily. "Hey, SoulSlayer617!" he greeted loudly.

The orange-haired medical student glared and shoved his way past his idiotic friend. "Why did you call me anyway and beg me to come over?" he asked. Realizing it was not just males in the apartment, Ichigo immediately lowered his voice a bit. There, sitting on the couch were Ellie and Inoue leaning over some kind of magazine.

Upon noticing his entrance, they looked up and smiled, at the same time. He gave them a short, awkward wave and, when he saw Ishida in the kitchen, asked, "What the hell is going on? Why am I over here? I could have been getting some stuff done … why the hell did you call me?!"

Ishida gingerly looked up from the book he was reading. After pushing his glasses up, he answered smoothly, "Renji wanted you to go with us to this little bar. You need to get out more, Kurosaki. I have straight A's and even I have time to go out."

Ichigo glared. "Look, just because I care more about my grades than my social life, doesn't mean that you, any of you"—he hissed, glaring at Renji, Ishida, and even Ellie and Inoue—"have the right to just call me up when you need a fifth wheel!"

"God, Ichigo," Ellie said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "Pull that stick out of your ass. I hear you can move more when it's not there. Geez, it's just one night of studying. So, who cares if you get a ninety-eight on your next assignment rather than a ninety-nine? When you're a doctor you won't even remember it!"

Ichigo sighed roughly, and crossed his arms as well. Glaring over at Ellie, he answered, "I want to let you know that I hate you."

She smiled wickedly. "The feeling is mutual. You tell me that every time I'm right and you're wrong. Now, stop being a baby, suck it up, and let's go already. I'm starving."

Ichigo and Ellie were used to this kind of bickering. They would get into little arguments all the time during class and one time even the professor asked if they needed to take their discussion outside … obviously, they were being distracting to the other students.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but didn't protest. Instead, grumbling and complaining, he grabbed his coat and headed toward the door, making sure to slam it behind him.

"Nice," Renji said. "I think that's why I love you so much."

Ellie blushed. "Thanks," she replied. "I guess I just know him enough to push all of his buttons. It's fun totally pissing him off." She winked at Renji and he smiled back.

Then, with Ishida and Inoue behind them, they started after Kurosaki.

* * *

Rukia ripped her hand away from the man, still clearly shocked at his appearance. "Don't touch me," she growled. "If you touch me again, I'll kill you."

He chuckled evilly and stepped back a bit. "Hey, guys," he said, supposedly talking to a couple of his friends. Six or seven men looked up from their drinks to the man.

"What is it, Aaroniero?" a man with thick glasses and dark-brown hair asked, getting up from his bar stool. Even with his warm smile and gentle face, Rukia could see his hungry eyes as well as the eyes from all the other men surrounding her.

"This girl thinks that if I touch her, she'll actually be able to hurt me!" the man called Aaronierolaughed. The other men joined creating the perfect harmony to the evilest choir. "I like her, Aizen-sama … can I have her?" Aaronierolicked his lips in anticipation, and Rukia was terrified, frozen stiff with fear.

There was a pause before the one with the glasses, Aizen, answered. Rukia tried to back away but her arms were caught by two more in the gang; a man with teal eyes and the same colored lines running down his face, the other was a man with electric-blue hair and eye shadow. The intoxication of their breath was putrid. Rukia felt as if she would pass out from how strong the alcohol was.

"Let me go!" she rasped, trying to get away. When their grip did not loosen she called out to Matsumoto, "Rangiku-san! _Rangiku_! Help _me_!"

"Sure, but you'll have to get her to be quiet," Aizen interjected.

Rukia could feel tears seeping down her cheeks. She did not want to die. She wanted to live; she did not want to be raped. She had tried so hard … she had not met SoulSlayer617 because she did not want to be hurt. She blocked out Ichi—_Kurosaki_ because she did not want to be hurt. She did everything in her power not to feel the pain in her aching chest increase anymore.

She did not want to feel …

"Rangiku!"

There was the shoving of men as the strawberry-blonde finally reached Rukia's side. "Hey, you guys get outta here!" she growled, ripping the arms two men that had a hold of Rukia off of her. She and Rukia sunk to the ground. "I said _out_!"

The men were not about to leave.

"Hey, I said get out!" Matsumoto yelled from the ground as Rukia cried into her chest thinking that everything, _everything_ that she had accomplished … why was she crying now?

_What is wrong with me? _Rukia kept repeating in her head._ I'm supposed to be strong. I'm supposed to not cry. I've been through so much worse … I've looked death in the eye before, why did I think that I was going to die now? How come it hurt so much worse now?_

_Why did I feel like I was going to lose something? I lost the two most important people in my life two years ago! I feel like … if I died now … I would lose everything, everyone that I love._

_Friends are not to be taken for granted_, she reminded herself. _If I lost them … I don't know what I'd do. I'd be lost … So, I lost Kaien and Miyako back then … what would I lose now_? Ishida. Ellie. Inoue._ Everything that I care about._

Kurosaki.

_I would lose _Ichigo_._

"Can I have her?" the man with the electric-blue hair asked the one called Aizen; he hopped from foot-to-foot, eager to win his prize.

Aizen sighed. "Go ahead."

That was when the brawl started. The men jumped on the girls. Rukia was torn away from Matsumoto. She was grabbed, pulled to her feet (by her hair) and slapped. Regulars and new-comers screamed in the background and scrambled to the door. "Someone call 911!" Rukia heard a few times from the random people who had already headed out to safety.

_The police never get to the scene on time._

The men were touching Rukia, groping her, in ways she did not remember from two years ago. Back then, she had blocked everything out and waited until they were done to finally think again. Now, she could not keep her mind from racing.

She did not want to lose Ichigo. She did not want to lose him. She could not recognize the feeling at that moment … but, it was like everything became clear to her. If she died here, she would never know what Ichigo thought about her. She would not get to tell him how much he meant to her, how much she loved being around him …

How much he was not her friend. How much, he was so much more … how much he meant to her. She did not want to die. She wanted him.

_Oh my God_, she thought. _I – I … I—_

"Rukia!" a masculine voice, one so familiar, voice yelled for her. "Rukia, where are you?! Rukia! If you can hear me, _yell_!"

_Ichigo._

"Ichigo …" all she could manage was a whisper. "Help me … _Ichigo_ …"

That was all she heard at that moment; his voice. She could not hear her thoughts, no matter if they were screaming or whispering. The men above her started to back away, removing their hands from her shirt, her legs, her arms, her breasts, her pants, as they were thrown off of her.

She looked up, seeing just the briefest bit of orange before it was gone again. She heard the sound of bones breaking, jaws snapping, grunts, yells, cries of pain …

Rukia rolled over and saw Matsumoto with a man crouched over her. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and a mysterious face. The most distinct feature about him was that he had a '69' written on his face. That was … _Hisagi_. It was their rival … the ass who ripped off the bar's name.

But, he was holding Matsumoto so closely. Did they have some sort of relationship? She was dating Shūhei though … _Shūhei Hisagi_, it dawned on her just then.

Rukia sighed.

She was closing her eyes when she heard it. Beyond the breaking of bones, glass, tables etc. there was something else …

_Sirens. _Rukia cried out. There were sirens. They were here … policemen and women were finally here … they were coming to save her and Matsumoto and Ichigo and Hisagi.

"_Ichigo_ …" she whispered.

Her tears were drying and her body slowly stopped its reverberating. She tried to open her eyes but she was unsuccessful. She heard the slamming of a door and the muffled yells of men as handcuffs were slapped on them.

She wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to see him … _Ichigo_. She wanted to tell him how much she cared about him … about how much she wanted to be with him. She _liked_ him, she needed him; he was there when she told her story.

He was everywhere. He was every_thing_. He was permanent. He was not some relationship on the internet. He was not going to hurt her like all those men. He knew her. He cared about her.

"Ichi … _go_," she mumbled. Two strong arms wrapped around her and her eyes snapped opened and she flinched away from the man's touch. He was a policeman, she soon realized and she was carried off, out of the bar and to an ambulance.

"Are you hurt?" Someone was asking her; a woman with short, gray hair and a short braid. She kept repeating her question.

"My … my arm …" Rukia mumbled. "And my legs … they hurt."

"Were you raped?"

"No … I don't think so. I don't remember. P-_please_, I n-need to see _him_ … I need to see _Ichigo_ … p-please …" Rukia garbled, her voice barely audible, as darkness slowly started to enclose around her. She moved her head back and forth, straining to keep her eyes open so she could see _him_.

She never did, for she had already fallen into unconscious.

* * *

"Hey! Let me go!" Ichigo yelled as two cops drug him off to one of the police vehicles. "I didn't do anything! Those guys were going to rape her! I _had_ – _to_ – _protect_ – _her_! Gah!" He was shoved in the car before he could say another word.

At the moment, Ichigo was so ticked.

Before entering the bar, he was momentarily excited because he remembered Rukia was working that night. He would not be the fifth wheel anymore! While Ishida was goo-goo eyes over Inoue and Renji was whispering probably less-than-noble things in Ellie's ear, he would not have to be alone!

The excited feeling suddenly dropped when he saw people screaming and crying outside. He had a brief wave of panic. Scanning the crowd, he could not spot Rukia.

That was when he started to run.

He ran all the way up the street, through the crowd of people, and into the bar. There were around ten men in two separate groups, five and five, hovering over two different things. He remembered that he could not believe it …

It was not _Rukia_, was it?

He ran forward. He remembered shouting her name. He ripped men off of her and there was another man, with 69 printed on his face, who was doing the same thing to the other group. Ichigo did not pay much attention though, because he finally got all the men away from _her_ …

_Rukia_.

Her eyes were distant, her clothes ripped, her hair tussled, and bruises were already settling into their place. Ichigo had never seen her so vulnerable before. She was always so strong, so kind and loving, yet so cold and distant.

Ichigo felt like _killing_. He turned around, hate overcoming all senses as he glared down at the men in which he had just flung there.

_Then_, he lost it.

Now, he sat in the back of a cold police car, wishing he could just get away. He wanted to see if _she_ was okay. He wanted to see if _she_ was still there, all of her; the funny, exciting, revolting, idiotic midget _she_ had always been.

Ichigo wanted _her_, so much. He cared about _her_ so much. He had never felt so strongly towards a person before _her_, besides his mother. He never wanted so much before to see _her_ smile, or stomp on his foot after a sarcastic comment about _her_ height, and to see _her_ laugh.

Ichigo lowered his head in shame.

Nothing had ever gone right in his life. First he lost his mother, then he lost Chappi14, now, he was going to lose Rukia. Ichigo had never believed in voodoo or having 'bad' luck.

Now, he wondered, if he should start.

* * *

**A/N: Gahhh. I know some people will hate me, but, I may be (I'm not too sure yet!) combining the next two chapters together, making the whole story only eleven chapters long. Sorry! It's gotta come to an end. :'(. Oh, and ****Aaroniero was the espada that nearly (spoiler!) killed Rukia in one of the most recent episodes. I think it's recent … Haha. I'm on episode 82 still … anyway! XDD.**

**On a better note, I'm officially done for school for the summer! Sooo many finals this past week! My oh my. Please review! Let me know if you want me to split or combine the next two chapters! I also saw the Indiana Jones movie! It's veryyyy good, check it out!! :)**

**Oh! & Do any of my readers read "Twilight", the book my Stephanie Meyer? I would really like to know! Thanks!**


	10. Busted::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs and text messages are in BOLD. Rukia's are ****__****italics****__****.**** Everyone's thoughts are also in ****__****italics****.**

* * *

When her eyes fluttered open, Rukia, who was expecting to see the cream-colored ceiling of her bedroom, was surprised to find herself … _not_ where she expected to be. She was not at home.

Blinking once … twice, she looked around the room to find out she was somewhere else. She was lying on a stiff bed with too many pillows. There was a side table on either side of her; there were files, medicines, and cups of water all piled on them. There was a door to her left and a window, overlooking a huge parking lot, to her right.

_Where am I_, she wondered.

Suddenly, memories of pain, men, groping, tears, and Ichigo all came back to her. She cried out in pain and the door burst open as nurses ran inside. There were two of them and they laid her back down; one of them put something in her IV. Rukia struggled to push them away but it was a lost cause. After their hands stopped their motion and they finally backed away, Rukia spoke, "Can I leave now?" she asked.

"No miss! You were just brought in yesterday! You can't leave yet!" one of the nurses yelped; she sounded completely _horrified_ by Rukia's question. The _poor woman probably doesn't get out much_, Rukia shook her head.

"I'm fine … I need to go to the _Karakura Jail_. Can I please leave?" she asked again. She had to get up … she was _fine_; it was poor, wimpy Kurosaki she was worried about at the moment. After all, she did work in a bar; stuff like what happened the night before happened all the time. Usually, every fighter, guilty or not, went to jail at least for a couple days. She could only guess that was where Kurosaki was. "My friend … he tried to help me last night, and I – I need to go and bail him out of jail."

The nurse looked skeptical, but did not protest after that. "Well, move around a bit. We'll make sure you're alright … if you check out, then you're free to go."

Twenty minutes later, Rukia finished writing her signature and turned around, heading out the hospital. With freedom granted to her, she felt slightly relieved. She was excited to finally be rid of the hospital with its weird smell and bleach-white walls. She was glad because, now, she could go bust Ichigo out of jail …

_Shit_, was her immediate thought. She remembered reading somewhere that in order to actually get someone out of jail there was a small fee to pay. And by 'small fee' that meant 300 to 400 dollars.

Even with her double-shifts for the past couple of weeks, she still had not made that much cash. She needed to get Ichigo out of jail … but she needed money.

_I guess I could ask Ishida and Inoue and Ellie_, she thought, while walking down the sidewalk towards her apartment. It was a good thing the bar, the hospital, and her apartment building were all down the same couple of blocks; if it was not, she would have been walking for hours.

_I can't do that_, she contradicted her first decision. _It wasn't their fault that I got hurt. It's _my_ fault that Ichigo is in jail now. I can't just ask them for money to fix my problem. _So_, what do I do?_

Coming up to her apartment building, Rukia was still contemplating the situation in her head. She automatically walked up the three stairs leading to the front door of her apartment building. She walked inside and up two flights of stairs to her floor. She reached her door, pulled out her key, which, _thank God_, was still in her pocket and she walked inside.

Everything seemed the same, even though, everything was different now. Now, she was aware of her feelings for the Kurosaki residing in jail. Now, she had been hurt twice by strangers, and now, she was fighting a 

battle in her head about how to get the most money in less than a few hours. So far, she had ruled out prostituting, robbing a bank, and a few other selected choices.

_I could always go to … _him_. No, no I couldn't. I haven't talked to _him_ in at least seven or eight months. I don't want _him_ to think that I'll just come to _him_ when I need money. I – I can't go and face _him_. Not after so long. Last time he saw me I was begging for his forgiveness. I was supposed to major in business. _Rukia shuddered. She did not have the heart to tell _him_ that she had changed her major, over two weeks before, to journalism. _I was supposed to take over the business … what am I going to do now?_

She walked to her bathroom and, after turning on the shower, she quickly stripped and got inside. Letting the hot water run down her forehead, cheeks, and neck, her body was relaxed but her mind was still racing.

_I can't go to him! I can't … but, I have to. I have tell him anyway that I switched my major … he won't be happy with that. But, what can he do? Well, a lot of things … but … I – I have to at least ask him. Kurosaki is important to me—maybe that'll get him._

Finally making her decision, Rukia stepped out of the shower, wiped the steam off of her mirror and stared at her reflection. Externally, she seemed calm and ready for the world. On the inside, she was psyching herself up … preparing herself for the man she was about to go and ask, yet again, for more money.

_Byakuya Kuchiki._

* * *

He had not slept. Sitting on a cold bench, in a cold cellar, his hands balled up in a fist and resting on his knees, his head bowed, Ichigo was shameful of his act. Sure, beating five guys up might have been for the best intentions, but, had it been? He might have saved Rukia but now, she was in some hospital without him by her side.

He did not want her to wake up the same way she had looked last night … scared for her life, crying, vulnerable to everything around her. But now, as he sat in the damn cell, there was no way he could be there. He could not even get out.

They had allowed him one phone call for the day and he called his dad at the clinic … but, damn his father and his 'Hello, thanks for calling the Kurosaki Clinic! The clinic will be closed on April fifteenth because my wonderful daughters and I are going on a camping trip!' message on the clinic's voicemail. Because he had not answered, Ichigo was sent back to sit in the damn cold cell he was sitting in now.

Of course, though it smelled funny and there was some big, burly man across the hall from that kept winking at him, being in jail gave Ichigo some time to think. Especially, since it gave him some time to think about Rukia and what he was planning to do with the rest of his life.

At the beginning of the school year, he had been determined to finish school as soon as possible with as little road blocks (literally and figuratively) as possible. Secretly, had already packed some of his belongings up in anticipation of leaving for America and had been studying a little English even. At the beginning of the school year, he had not expected to fall for a dream girl over the internet or fall for a real girl who was currently residing at the local hospital. He had not expected to be thrown in jail either … or to be contemplating all of his actions in the past eight or so months.

He had not expected for his life to take such a dramatic turn. He had not expected to second-guess himself in the decision of going to some strange foreign country. And he had definitely had not expected himself to second-guess himself in the profession he wanted to do.

He had always wanted to be a doctor, ever since he first saw his father working in the clinic. Now, he had the slight urge to become a journalist. _Originally_, he had taken an _Intro to Newspaper_ class because he wanted to impress Chappi14 when he finally convinced her to meet him. Now, he learned how much he really loved it. Since he had taken it, he found, it was not so bad to let people get close. It was not so hard to go up to a complete stranger and ask for their opinion. He loved writing for the newspaper, even if he actually was not on the staff … _yet_.

For a while now, he was seriously considering changing his major to something dealing with writing. He had never considered himself very literate … other than his love for Shakespeare … now, he thought himself smarter than some of classmates … in something _other_ than biology.

He knew his father would be okay with it. He was just wondering how Rukia would take it … she was the writer after all, which was where she dubbed herself smarter. How would she take it, if, all of a sudden, he wanted to be a journalist as well? He knew how girls were … they _hated_ when people so much as suggested going to the same place as they did, let alone change their whole future.

Of course, Ichigo knew that Rukia was not like other girls. She had only been kind to him and helped him achieve his goals. She had given him advice about his love life, his future, newspaper, and whatever else he asked about.

_She_ had been there for him. And what had _he_ done?

He was not there for her when she needed him the most. She was probably awake now, confused, scared, and frustrated because she could not remember exactly what happened. And here he was, sitting in a _freakin'_ jail cell contemplating situations that he never thought he would contemplate.

* * *

Rukia was standing in front of the biggest house of that particular street she was standing on. It was tall and white, with three stories and four columns out front. There were at least ten windows on either side of the two _huge_ oak doors. She knew that the backyard was vast with a play area, a sand pit, a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a huge party house to top it all off.

This particular house belonged to the _richest_ _man_ in Karakura and one of the richest in Japan.

This house belonged to her _brother_, her sister's husband.

_Byakuya Kuchiki._

She had not been at this particular house in over six months. After the beginning of the school year, she had never bothered to visit or call … though she had come back, begging for forgiveness, she had not lost her rebellious attitude. Rukia still managed to keep on Byakuya's _not-so-good_ side.

Taking a deep breath, she walked from her car up to the front door. Ringing the door bell, she waited for only a matter of seconds before a young maid opened it. "Hello!" she said cheerfully, not noticing Rukia, "welcome to the Kuchiki esta—Rukia-san!" she yelped.

"Hello," Rukia said politely. "Is Byakuya-sama here?"

The maid straightened her outfit a bit before answering. "Y-yes, Rukia-san … Kuchiki-sama is up in his study." Rukia had already started walking in the house. "He's working on very important papers, Rukia-san! He might not want to be disturbed!"

Too bad Rukia had already gone around the corner. When she had first seen the inside of her house, she felt a sudden burst of adrenaline. She was not sure how she could explain it … but she felt like she was … _in power_; like she was going to be rebellious again … after all, Byakuya hated when people interrupted him while working.

She went up to the second floor to the second door on her right. She knocked swiftly three times before her brother answered. "Rukia," he said, taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

Rukia put on an emotionless mask and answered, "I'm here because I need to ask you a favor and because I need to talk to you about college." Byakuya nodded curtly and they walked into his office. He sat behind his desk and crossed his arms while Rukia sat in a chair in front of him.

He was staring her down and she was fiddling with her hands. Suddenly, all the energy she had had before walking in here was gone. The room was cold and there was a kind of stillness that made it suffocating. "Um … brother, I – uh, I need to ask you a favor," she said.

"Yes?"

"Well … um … you see. Yesterday at work, um … well, there were these drunk men that came into the restaurant"—the bar had to be called the 'restaurant' because Byakuya did not know that Rukia did, in fact, work at a bar—"and they threatened me. Then, they started to attack. Well, one of my friends … he helped me. And, you've see _Law and Order_ before, I'm sure. Remember when they arrest all the guys because they were all involved in the fight …?"

"Rukia," he interrupted. She stopped moving her eyes from the tall, oak bookcases to the window, showing her car, the escape to this place. "Just get to the point."

She sighed. "Well, um … look, Byakuya-sama," she gave up trying to sugar-coat the situation and just got to the point. "He's in jail. And, I need to bust him out. Please, Byakuya-sama, I need money. Even with my double-shifts, I still can't afford to get him out. _Please_."

He snapped his fingers and a maid came bustling in. Rukia was not sure how they managed to do that every time someone snapped their fingers. It was like a maid was positioned at every door in the house … and, when you walked out a room, they disappeared so they did not look too anxious to take the next order.

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama?" the maid asked.

"Please, write out a check for my sister. Will four-hundred dollars do it, Rukia?" he asked, looking over to her. She nodded at her brother's sudden generosity. "Four-hundred dollars then and bring it to me to sign."

The maid quickly nodded and ran out of the room. No doubt she would show up in the next two minutes … they probably already had his checks made out, just to show how 'fast' they were.

"Now Rukia, what is it about college? Are your studies going well?"

She nodded for a second time. "Yes. They're going well. Um … I really just came here to tell you that um … well, one of my professors noticed that I have exceptional writing skills and asked me to join the _Introduction to Newspaper_ course. So, I did.

"Byakuya-sama, I really _love_ writing for the newspaper," she admitted. "I want to be doing this for the rest of my life, Byakuya-sama. I know that I left for two years without so much as a phone call or a card at Christmas. But during that time, I grew up a lot. I know what I want Byakuya-sama … and that's not … that's _not_ marketing. I don't want to take over the business. I want to write.

"I—um … I s-switched my major, Byakuya-sama …"

There was a pregnant pause. During those elapsed minutes of silence, Rukia's mind was racing with the possible outcomes. After all, she could get the money and scram and never see Byakuya again but Byakuya could easily turn around and stop paying for her college. He could disown her and shun her from the Kuchiki clan. He could never speak to her again. He could say that it was _okay_ …

"I'll get back to you with my answer from your request," Byakuya said. "For now, take that check and get your friend out of prison."

Rukia locked eyes with him. In those brief moments that mauve met black, Rukia could see the indifference, the coldness in his eyes. It was like he did not want her to be here. She knew he had better things to do besides talk to her, but did he really not care?

Even though she had not called in so long, it did not mean she stopped caring about her older brother. After all, he had gotten her and Hisana out of the streets. He had paid for her to go to college even after she had 

abandoned him for two years. He had done so much for her and she had done so much to please him. And yet, here she was, wishing that, if only she could do more, maybe he would love her, even if, it was only a little.

It never worked.

_It never would._

The maid had magically reappeared by the Kuchiki siblings' sides. She handed the check to Byakuya and scurried off again. He signed the check with a handsome signature and Rukia grabbed it and practically ran out of the house before he could see her crack.

She ran to her car, started it and pulled out of the driveway as fast as she could. She only made it about a mile before she pulled over to the side of the road and let her tears of shame and guilt run freely.

Little did she know, a man with long, black hair and dark eyes had watched his sister from his study's window … masking his emotion but feeling the same thing as she.

* * *

"Kurosaki," someone said from above the said man. He looked up to see a tall policeman dressed in the usual blue attire, holding a set of keys. "It's seems you've made bail."

Someone stepped out from behind him and Ichigo gasped. It was _her_ … it was Rukia. "Hey, Kurosaki," she giggled from behind the man. Her eyes were a bit swollen and a bit red, maybe from crying, he was not sure; her hair was wind-blown and she was wearing just a pair of old sweatpants and a hoody but, to Ichigo, she never looked like more of a relief.

"Rukia," he grinned. "Y-you …"

She winked. "I'm busting you out."

He laughed as the policeman finished unlocking the bars and slid the door open. Ichigo bumbled through and wrapped his arms around Rukia, crushing her against his chest. At first she was startled, but then, she sighed while breathing in his scent, and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Thanks so much, Rukia," he said in her hair. He kept repeating her name like it was his life source and, it seemed, Rukia was the only one to notice. After a while, the policeman broke them up by saying that they needed to take their 'love moment' outside.

Ichigo chuckled as did Rukia and the let go of each other. Walking side by side they headed towards the exit. "_So_," Ichigo said when they reached outside. "How did you manage to make bail for me …? Last time I checked you were still complaining that you didn't make enough money to afford to buy milk."

"You should just be happy that I came and got you," Rukia sarcastically snapped. "Actually, my brother loaned me the money." Ichigo knew about her brother and how cold and stiff he was … without even meeting the guy, he did not like him very much. "I said you needed help," she went on. "He gave me a check."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll pay him back."

"You don't have to do that," was her immediate answer. "Four-hundred dollars is nothing to him. He's the richest man in the city and one of the richest in Japan."

By that time they had made it to her car. Already she was getting and Ichigo was following as the continued their conversation. "It doesn't feel right for him to pay for my bail richest man or not," Ichigo went on. "I can pay him back … no big deal. I'll just ask for another shift at the clinic … I might have to clean a couple more bedpans, but hey, it's not that bad."

Rukia made a gagging noise at his response.

"Please, _don't_. I mean … you _saved_ my _life_, Ichigo. The least I can do is bail you out of jail. I'll pay my brother back. Really, it's no big deal."

Rukia parked outside of Ichigo's apartment building and they both got out of the car. She leaned up against the driver's side as he started walking up the sidewalk, to the front door. "Fine, I'll let you pay for my bail," he called out, "if I can pay for your dinner sometime next week."

Ichigo was surprised at his bold mood. Obviously, Rukia was as well, because she stopped arguing and went wide-eyed. Then, she smirked. "Did you just ask me out on a date, Kurosaki?" she yelled, her lips curled into the perfect smile.

"I think I just did," he said. "Do you agree?"

She looked down at the concrete, as if she was debating whether to say yes or no. Finally, after a couple of seconds (which seemed like _days_ for Ichigo), she smiled and said, "Pick me up at seven on Friday."

He nodded and, after tripping up the last step, he made it to the door and in safely before Rukia Kuchiki, the girl he was going on a date with, noticed his blush. He was on his way up the stairs when his mind finally clicked. Running the rest of the way up the stairs and to his door, he quickly unlocked it and ran to his computer.

* * *

As a Kuchiki, Rukia was one whom was taught to always wear a mask and show absolutely no emotion when she was out in public. But, right now, she was grinning like an idiot and she did not care who saw her. Everything that had happened to her in the past two days could not bring her down from what had just happened with Ichigo.

She could not believe that after everything that they had been through, he would still want to go out on a date with her. It was like … when she finally realized how much she liked him, it was like he realized how much he liked her (at least, that is what she hoped he realized).

Her grin vanished though when she reached the parking lot of her apartment building. It was like she was awakening from some kind of dream when she realized that … that if she was dating Kurosaki, the profile on the school's dating website was no longer needed. She did not have to hope for some relationship over the internet … she had one right now.

And she _loved_ it.

Parking quickly, Rukia turned off her car and ran up to her room as fast as she could. She hit the power button on her laptop and changed into her pajamas while waiting for all the windows and systems to load.

When she returned there was a window that must have popped up while she changed. She smiled down at it automatically when she read it was from SoulSlayer617. Pinning her hair back, she read what he wrote:

**Hey, Chappi14. Are you there?**

Taking her last bobby pin and fastening the last of her bangs back, she quickly replied. _Yeah, I'm here. What's up?_

**I need to talk to you.**

_Really? That's weird. I have to talk to you too. You go first._

Rukia unplugged her computer and walked over to the couch. Sitting it down on the coffee table, she quickly ran for a bottle of water. Upon returning, she found a new message.

**Okay. Well, you see, I found a girl. Um … I going out with her sometime next week and, Chappi, I really like her. So, um, I'm not sure if I should talk to you anymore.**

Rukia thought she would be hurt with his response. After all, her dream guy was going to date _another_ girl … it did not seem fair, but, for Rukia, it just meant it would be a lot easier to tell him that she too had found someone else.

_Wow_, she typed. _That's great! That's really strange because, well, I'm actually going out with this really awesome guy next week as well. I was going to tell you just about the same thing._

She was grinning again and, like before, she did not care one bit if anyone saw her. Of course, now that she was at home, even if she was living with a Kuchiki, she could still grin, but, still … she was smiling again! She had not smiled so much in two years!

**Wow. Weird. Well, I guess I'll just go then. Thanks for everything. You've really helped me, Chappi14. Thanks.**

Suddenly, Rukia felt guilty. She still remembered a few months ago when SoulSlayer617 had wanted to meet her more than anything and vice versa. Now, since she was going to date Ichigo, she did not think meeting him was _too_ bad.

_Wait, before you go …_

**Hm?**

_Do you want to meet? You know, just to see what could have been? It's not like anything as to happen … but, you know, I really have wanted to meet you … I've just been so scared about being hurt that, I – I couldn't do it._

**If you were worried about that, you shouldn't have been. I was studying to become a doctor. I can't hurt you.**

Rukia smiled.

_Then, let's meet._

**Okay. Just give me when and where and I'll be there.**

_The bar right outside the university called, _Drink with Matsu_ on Monday around five. Sound okay?_ Rukia hoped it sounded okay with him … after all, that was her only day off, and even then she was not technically off work. She was still working, just, with the intentions of meeting a complete stranger in mind.

**I love that place. That sounds great for me. See you soon, Chapp14.**

_Yeah, see you Monday, SoulSlayer617._

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I just typed that 4,400 chapter in one sitting. Woo. I'm wiped out! But, I hope you liked it! By the way, bringing Byakuya in at the end was TOTALLYYYY unplanned. I was thinking of how to type this chapter and he just came in there. XD. It was great! **

**Oh my goodness! I got nearly thirty reviews on the last chapter! O.O. Thank you guys so much! It made my busy busy busy weekend soooo much better. Thank you so very much!!**

**Please review!!**


	11. Meeting::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie.**

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs and text messages are in BOLD. Rukia's are in **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

When Monday morning finally rolled around, the weekend—though life changing it may have seemed—was long forgotten when classes and work started up again. Students put away their party hats and expensive clothes and opted to wear sleeping pants, baggy t-shirts, sweats, and hoodies rather than the dresses, suits, expensive jeans and blouses, so they could be a little more comfortable in their three-hour classes.

The working part of society put away their baseball gloves and shut off the football games to return to work, so they could pay for the bills that were coming that afternoon. Moms drove their children to school or bid them farewell as they got on a school bus.

After a long, hard day working in classes, Rukia usually had something to do afterwards. Whether it was writing essays, interviewing for newspaper, or doings labs, she always had something to keep her mind off of her social life. Now, she had nothing. It was like all of her professors got together and decided not to give her anything to do, making her think of what was going to happen in just a matter of hours.

Now, it was three in the afternoon. There was still two hours before she had to be at work. There were still two dreadful hours until she finally got to meet SoulSlayer617. To pass the time away, she had already showered … _twice_, cleaned the house … _twice_, and finished all of her homework and even read out of a textbook for a while … which she would never recommend for anyone else.

As of that moment, she was pacing her living room, deep in thought. _What if he doesn't like me, she questioned. What if I'm too thin … or not nice-looking enough? _Rukia glowered._ Or … _short_?_ _What if I'm not the girl he's expecting? What if … I'm not the girl he was wants. Wait. What am I talking about? I don't have to look nice or be nice for him! I'm going on a date with Ichigo!_ Ichigo!

Deciding that she could go get a drink at her own job anytime she damn well pleased, Rukia made sure she looked presentable for the rest of the world. She had her hair clipped back … her usual hairstyle for working, and her white work t-shirt was straight and she was wearing her favorite jeans. She was _so_ ready.

Hell, she was ready two hours before. Grabbing her keys off of the counter, she headed out of her apartment and to the bar. She couldn't pace and wait around any longer.

* * *

Ichigo sat on his couch, wringing his hands, and tapping his foot. He was rocking back and forth while staring at whatever was playing on TV. He couldn't comprehend exactly what was on … he was just looking for something to do to pass the time away.

Though he had experienced a life-altering weekend and hadn't done any of his homework because of that, he was still an extremely smart man and it as soon as he got home … all the essays, stories, labs, everything he did in less than two hours. It had been at two when he finished all of his homework. He had paced the length of his apartment until two-thirty and then had taken an extra long shower. He had mulled over what to wear for a long while and then finally decided on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that had the words, _that's what she said_ printed on it in big, bold print.

After all of that, he had glanced at the clock only to find out that it was 3:11. He had sat here for over an hour, watching random TV shows, trying to pass the time away.

He kept thinking about Chappi14, despite the fact that he should have been thinking about Rukia. He knew he shouldn't still have these feelings for her … he didn't even know her real name for God's sake! But, he still liked her somewhat. He still thought she might still be his 'dream girl', because, Rukia was everything he was looking for … but, what could get better than fantasy?

Shaking his head, he stood up and walked over to his faucet; he splashed his face with water and then sighed. He needed to get out … maybe get some fresh air.

He grabbed a light jacket and his wallet and headed out the door. He was greeted with a chilly day, but, with spring sense in the air, it was actually not that bad. Turning towards the _opposite_ direction the bar was located in, he started walking.

He was wondering what he should say to Chappi14 first. Just say, 'Hey, I'm SoulSlayer617 … well, Ichigo Kurosaki,' or maybe, 'Hey babe, looking for me?' No, he told himself on the last option. That just sounds stupid and a cheesy kind of bad ass.

He settled on just introducing himself as Ichigo Kurosaki, or, as she knew it, SoulSlayer617. He whispered it a few times, trying to get a feel for the words.

Off-handedly, he thought the reason why he liked Rukia so much was because he did not get nervous around her. Sure, there was when he actually asked her out, but, that didn't count. That was a life-changing thing … after all, he was unsure now if he was actually going to move to America because of her. What happened with her was going to depict whether he stayed here or went over there. Even with all that pressure (that she didn't know about), he still managed to talk to her with ease.

Chappi14 on the other hand was intimidating, even on the internet. She seemed so far away, like, if you just blinked, she would be gone and you would never see her again. Rukia wasn't like that. She was permanent … even if they didn't work out he knew that they would still be close for a long time.

She was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.

So, it really didn't matter who this Chappi14 person was, because he had someone like Rukia. He had someone who was nice, funny, and one hell of a right hook. She gave him advice, even when his questions were partly truth because he was embarrassed about his relationship with a girl on the internet. She helped him in newspaper class, and bailed him out of jail.

Sighing he finally broke away from his thoughts long enough to look up to where he stopped. _How ironic, _he thought to himself._ Even when I turned the other way … I still ended up in front of here_. He saw the neon lights advertising different types of beer and the faint sound of a TV showing a football game. He smiled.

_Drink with Matsu._

How ironic his legs would drag him to a place that he was trying to avoid for the time being. He was not supposed to be here for another … 4:45 … fifteen minutes. He sighed. _Oh well_, he thought. _I guess I could make a good impression when I'm early. Girls are always early._

Shoving his hands to the depths of his pockets, he quickly walked inside. Rukia had told him the day before that she wouldn't be 'on duty' that night. So, it was safe to say, when he did meet Chappi14, Rukia wouldn't get all … well, _girly_. The jealous, crazy girl that most girlfriends did when their boyfriends talked to other girls …

_Wait_.

* * *

Ellie looked up from the homework she was working on, when the door was practically ripped off its hinges as her redheaded boyfriend came plowing inside. Raising an eyebrow, she set down her pencil."What the hell, Renji?" she asked. "I'm trying to work here."

His face scrunched up in confusion and he looked down at her books. It dawned onto him then that she was actually doing schoolwork … something he tried to avoid on most days. "Put the books away, Ellie! Ichigo and Rukia … they planned to meet as SoulSlayer617 and Chappi14!"

At the beginning of this plan, Ellie really didn't want to have anything to do with it. Meddling with people's lives was bound to be a bad idea in some way or another. Because it was so important to Renji, she let him have 

his fun and, eventually, she started having fun with it too. She hadn't known Ichigo very long but he seemed so lonely and, when he started getting more involved with Rukia, he seemed happier and even stopped talking so much about America and how he couldn't wait to leave.

"Really?" she said, jumping up. "Well, come on! We gotta get Ishida and Inoue! Let's go!" Inoue was across the hall, Ellie knew and Ishida was still at class … Inoue could just text him and tell them to meet at … "Where are they meeting at?"

"Matsumoto's place!"

_Drink with Matsu_ then.

* * *

_Did he say girlfriend? Friend! She's a friend, Ichigo_, he told himself. Blushing lightly, he walked up to the counter and sat down on the bar stool. Matsumoto popped up and yelped, "Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing here?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm here for a drink. Is this the way you treat all your customers?" he snapped, glaring in her direction. What was her problem, anyway?

"No! I mean, Rukia told me you weren't coming in today. She said you had something to do."

"I'm meeting someone, an old friend of mine, actually. I said that I was busy, not that I wasn't coming here. My friend knows where this place is as well and it was the logical place for us to meet."

Matsumoto looked suspicious, and frankly a little worried, but she dropped the subject. "Okay, whatever you say, Kurosaki-kun. What can I get you to drink?"

"Just my regular order, if you could please."

Matsumoto filled the drink up as much as she could, and as quickly as she could, and then ran into the back saying something about a problem with the air conditioner. He heard a couple of hushed shouts—how you 'hush' _shouts_ was beyond him—and then Matsumoto came out, grinning like she was up to something.

He narrowed his eyes in her direction but she just kept smiling. He was about to ask what the hell was up with her, when he saw someone he was not expecting to see until Wednesday.

"R-Rukia," he whispered his eyes very wide.

"Hey, Kurosaki," Rukia replied nervously, waving in his direction. "What's up?" He looked at her and noticed how nervous she was and how … jumpy. She was hopping from foot-to-foot.

"Hey, Rukia …" he said. "Um … I'm just here to meet a friend of mine … what about you? I thought that you weren't working tonight …"

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I needed to get a couple more hours in so, I'm just going to be here for a while … I guess I can just bug you for a while!" She smirked and he glared. Mumbling something of a "fine" under his breath they two sat there waiting for the people they had waited for so long to meet.

* * *

Renji dipped two fries in ketchup and then ate them. He had already eaten his own meal and now he was working on the rest of Ellie's. He was a man after all, and he was hungry. They had been here for nearly an hour now, eating, but secretly watching Ichigo and Rukia.

"Those two are idiots," he mumbled to Ellie.

"Yeah, they kinda are," she sighed turning her head slightly to see them both staring intently at the door in anticipation of meeting the internet friend who was right next to them.

"I'm wondering how long it'll take them," Ellie thought aloud. "I'm betting another two hours."

"Oh please," Renji said, waving off her comment. "They're so oblivious … I'm betting another three hours … at nine they'll realize."

"At seven."

Renji turned his head and smirked at Ishida, the owner of the voice. "Sure, whatever Ishida. You're way off. You obviously don't know him like I do. What about you, Inoue? Got a bet?"

"Oh! Um … I guess I'm with Uryuu on this one," she blushed.

Renji rolled his eyes. "A hundred bucks then? Twenty-five each?"

Ishida smirked. "A hundred will be fine."

* * *

_This really sucks_, Rukia thought, her chin resting on her hand. Her head was tilted to the side and her eyes were drooping. It was now 7:30 … two and a half hours ago SoulSlayer617 was supposed to show up and they were supposed to meet.

He still hadn't showed up yet.

Ichigo had his head down on the table, his arms blocking his view from the world. She still wasn't here yet … it had been like two hours ago that they had scheduled to meet. Where was she?

Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly found her name and texted, **Where are you? I've been waiting for nearly two hours!**

He sent the message and then heard Rukia squeal.

He looked. "What's up? You heading out for your date yet?"

She glared. "_No_. And it's not a date! I'm just meeting someone. Besides, I'm going out with you on Friday … I wouldn't want to strain something going out twice in one week. You do that bad enough in Intro." He smirked mumbling something about 'whatever he could do to tick her off …' under his breath.

She looked down at her phone and at SoulSlayer617's message. _I'm here too. Where are you?_

He was already here? No way … she had been here _before_ the time that she had to.

Looking around the bar she noticed a few people she recognized … Ishida, Inoue, Ellie, and some guy with red hair … whom she didn't recognize but Ellie was sitting with him, so he must have been close to her. There were the two old regulars … Hashi and Himo … Rukia knew that they had been friends since they were little and always met here for Monday drinks. There were a family of four in one of the booths, and two women in another corner. There were two men sitting in the back … but neither one of them looked like they would be on a college websites … unless they were …

Her heart sank.

_Don't focus on the negatives_, she told herself. There was Kurosaki … but, she knew he wasn't SoulSlayer617. Then, the door opened. Inside walked a man with russet hair and gray eyes. He was tall and very handsome; wearing a black turtleneck with jeans to finish off his first impression. Rukia's breath caught. Could that be him? Could that be SoulSlayer617? He pulled out his cell phone and looked down at it … like he was reading a text message.

Ichigo looked over to Rukia and at the guy. Was that the guy? He felt his insides burn; recognizing the feeling as jealousy, he quickly looked away. He shouldn't be jealous of that douche bag … he was nothing important … just one of Rukia's friends.

The door jingled open and he looked up, just the briefest hope that it was Chappi14. The woman who walked in was tall, with long green hair — _green … that's a strange color_, he thought, but, _then again, I have orange hair_ … so it wasn't not that bad he figured — and had the biggest … He coughed … blessings he had ever seen … well, next to Matsumoto that is. She was wearing a white dress that cut off just above her knees that shaped her every curve. Was that Chappi14?

She pulled out her phone and looked at something; then her fingers were flying off the keys … she was texting someone back. Then, his phone buzzed.

Swallowing, he glanced over at Rukia who was glaring at the girl who just entered the building and then he looked down at his phone. He gulped. Taking out his phone, he looked down at the message. _I'm wearing white,_ was all it said. His eyes widened and he looked back up.

**I'm wearing black.**

Rukia received the text message not two minutes later. She gasped. Looking up, she saw the man who had just walked in … so that was SoulSlayer617. He was … he kind of looked like her dream guy. Tall, and looked like Kaien/Ichigo a bit … only his hair was slightly different colored.

"Ashido!" the girl Ichigo had been gaping at before suddenly yelped. Rukia and Ichigo watched in horror as the two people they had both just assumed were the people they were going to meet, hugged.

"Nel!" the man yelled, kissing her on the cheek. "How are you?"

Rukia drowned out the rest of the conversation. Feeling as hopeless as she had before, she rested her chin back in her hands. She quickly pulled out her phone and texted, _I'm the one behind the counter … short hair … just plain short …_

He saw her whip out her phone and she did the same. He texted, **I'm the one with the orange hair … I'm sitting in front of the short bartender.**

They both sighed at the same time, and waited for the text message they would receive back. Rukia's phone buzzed before Ichigo's did and she read the words slowly_. Orange hair … in front of the … bartender … oh my _God, Rukia thought. She looked up, her eyes wide. _Ichigo is SoulSlayer617._

Ichigo noticed how weird she was acting all of a sudden and asked, "Hey Rukia, what's wrong? Are you—" his phone buzzed. Putting up his index finger as an indication that he would get back to her, he looked down at his phone; there was a message Chappi14 had sent him. _Behind the counter … short hair … short_, he gasped. _Oh my God_, _Chappi14 is Rukia?!_

They both broke out of their trance at the same time. "Rukia," Ichigo whispered harshly, "you're Chappi14?" She nodded slowly, her eyes still wide.

"And you're SoulSlayer617?" He nodded.

"Oh my God," she said again. Turning around, she filled up a shot glass of pure liquor and she flipped her head back, downing it. "I can't believe it."

"I can't either."

"So, the whole time … it was you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah. Inoue made me set up an account and I never intended to actually use it. I filled it out for her, just to make her feel better. Then, when you messaged me, I just thought, 'what the hell' and messaged back," Rukia explained.

"Wait … I didn't message you. You messaged me."

"No I didn't …"

"So … someone hacked onto our profiles," Rukia growled. "Without our permission, and messaged us. How did they find us? I mean … did they know who we are? The only people I was with was …"

"Ishida and Renji," Ichigo grasped. "They set up my profile, so they knew my password. They must have known … but how would they know yours?"

Rukia was glaring at the retreating blonde headed out the door with the redhead man along with Inoue and Ishida. Rukia couldn't believe her friends would set her up on a dating website just to set her up with Ichigo. Granted, Ichigo was probably the coolest person she knew right now … but still! They shouldn't have done that!

"_Ellie_!" Rukia yelled.

"I guess that means we win the bet!" Ishida yelled as the four ran out of the bar with Ichigo and Rukia right on their tails.

* * *

"So," Ichigo said uncomfortably as they stood outside Rukia's apartment.

After chasing Renji, Inoue, Ishida, and Ellie down the streets and into the park, Ichigo and Rukia had finally caught up to them. Laughing, they all fell into a huge sand pit. Then, when Rukia demanded an explanation, Inoue volunteered to tell her everything about the plan.

When Ichigo found out Renji was the one who actually set the whole thing up, he punched him in the arm, but then he grinned and told him a brief thanks. When Rukia found out that Ellie had indeed, hacked into her account, sent the message, she told her to stop using her computer skills for evil or she would be coming after herm, smirking the whole time. When Ichigo and Rukia found out about how they got each other's cell phone numbers, they scolded the particular blonde and black-haired man.

Then, they had laughed and enjoyed making sand castles and had a couple sand fights. It felt like they were kids again, and though they were reluctant to leave the enjoyable atmosphere, college life still went on, and they all had classes the next morning.

Ishida and Inoue walked on their own as did Renji and Ellie … though, Ichigo didn't assume Ellie's house was down an alleyway, even though that was the way Renji had been pushing her. _Pervert_, he had thought at the time. He then asked Rukia if he could accompany her home, and they walked back to the bar, got her car, and then drove her back to her apartment building.

"I guess this is it until Wednesday. I've gotta say … I was never expecting you to be Chappi14." She looked up at him questionably. "Well, I guess, before I really got to know you-_you_, I thought of what Chappi14 would look like … and she didn't really look like you much … after all, she was a lot taller."

Rukia kicked him in the shin.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Rukia asked, "Was I a disappointment? I mean … I guess you thought of your dream girl when you thought of this girl over the internet. I know I thought a lot about the perfect guy."

"No!" Ichigo quickly intervened.

He lifted her chin so she looked at him straight in the eye. "It's actually kinda a relief. I was so excited that you asked me to meet you, but I was scared to. I mean, what would happen if I liked Chappi14 if she was another girl and I liked you? I was … scared, I guess. I didn't want to lose you both."

Rukia smiled lightly.

"Was I a disappointment?" he asked.

"No." She grinned. "My dream actually looked a little like you," she admitted. "He was tall, and handsome … he just didn't have your mug." She ruffled his hair playfully and he smiled his fingers still under her chin.

And then, she gripped his hair and pulled him downward until his lips met hers. She kissed him forcefully, letting go of all the stress, tension, and relief go as he responded. She moved her hands so they were tangled in his sunset locks and he wrapped his arms around her back.

For a while, they stood like that, in the middle of the hallway, just kissing each other.

Finally, she let go of his hair and he pulled back, but not before stealing a quick peck on the lips from her. She was firmly planted up against her apartment door and they were both having trouble breathing. "What do we do know?" he whispered, his voice edgy from the kiss they had just shared.

Rukia smirked. "Well, I guess … I'll see you Wednesday, during Intro."

He smiled. "Sounds like a plan," he replied. And, with one final peck on the cheek, he strolled down her hall and out of her building, smiling like an idiot and not caring if the world was watching him.

Rukia unlocked her apartment door, walked inside, closed the door, and slid down on the wall. She pulled her knees up to the chin and sat there for a couple of minutes … letting every that had just happened sink into her system. _So_, Ichigo was SoulSlayer617; knowing almost everything about him because of what he told her on the internet, would suffice when she needed blackmail. _So_, she was going on a date with him Friday and she couldn't wait; she had already picked out her outfit and everything. _So_, she kissed him. No big deal.

Sitting where she was, she squealed in delight.

Not a big deal?! This was _huge_! How his lips felt against hers … his rough hands caressing her back as she pulled him closer … the beauty of the passion they obviously shared for one another. She couldn't wait to tell Inoue and Ellie about it …

… Then again, maybe she could.

She wouldn't want them to post that kind of personal stuff on the internet, now would she?

* * *

**A/N: Gahhh. Soooo, here's the last chapter! ;—; I can't believe it's nearly over! I really hoped all of you liked it!! :). I know this chapter is shorter than some of the others … buuut, I figured that I shouldn't torture them any longer in their obliviousness. ;).**

**PS. sorry I didn't update on Friday ... I was going to ... but the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have internet except for their computers. I'm in another COUNTRY ... amazing, huh?**

**There is still an epilogue soooo, look out for that!**

**PLEASE REVIEW aaaand adios!!**


	12. Epilogue::

**I don't own Bleach. I don't own Ellie. **

**Reminder: Ichigo's IMs and text messages are in BOLD. Rukia's are in **_italics_**. Everyone's thoughts are also in **_italics_**.**

* * *

—_**Two Years Later—**_

Looking herself over in the mirror, Rukia checked her teeth to make sure there wasn't any food stuck in there; then she brushed her hair through and put lotion on her face. Feeling clean enough to go to bed, she grabbed her cell phone, just as it started vibrating, and headed out of the bathroom.

**Hey, what's up?** She read. She smiled automatically.

_Nothing much here, _she replied. _How's your girlfriend? You haven't said much about her in the past couple days … is everything all right between you guys?_

Taking a sip from the glass of water she had been drinking earlier, Rukia turned on the television and flipped through a couple of random stations before sighing and turning it off.

Honestly, with her hectic life … television just wasn't a source of entertainment.

Only a couple weeks after her visit with her brother about bail money for Ichigo just a couple years ago, Byakuya had called Rukia up and told her that she could now do as she pleased with her life because he had found someone else who was willing to take over the business (if she had known it was Renji at the time she probably would have refused … he wasn't very responsible and definitely did not prove to be anywhere near a business man); but, in only a short six months he actually had taken over the business, Renji had made it to the top ten most popular art museums in Japan.

Byakuya had also said that he would still provide schooling for her for as long as she needed it and he wished her luck with whatever she did … of course, she would have to bring her boyfriend. Though she didn't know (and still didn't know) her brother very well, he had learned to read her like a book, even when she wasn't standing directly in front of him when he made his accusations.

She remembered the night she had brought her boyfriend home with her.

—**Flashback: One Year Before—**

—**Rukia POV—**

"_You'll be fine," I whispered, straightening his tie. He was so damn nervous … I had tried so many ways to calm him down from words to long, passionate kisses. Granted he had enjoyed the long, passionate kisses (I could tell by how much he kept trying to push me back down on my couch when I kept trying to say that we had to leave), but, the pep-talk wasn't working out too well._

_"I know," he huffed. "I'm just nervous. This is your brother after all, Rukia, I don't want to make a bad first impression. You told me what a hard-ass he is." I giggled._

_The door opened at that point._

_He and I gasped and whirled around to see my brother standing right in front of us. He looked especially emotionless today … I prayed he hadn't heard the last bit of our conversation. Though, knowing Byakuya, he probably had and was already making arrangements to get my boyfriend run over by a semi._

_"Brother!" I yelped. "Um … I'd like you to meet my boyfriend …"_

_"It's good to meet you, sir," my boyfriend said politely, offering him a hand. Byakuya replied an 'as to you' and they shook hands … and I swore I saw an oath of hate in their eyes._

Men_, I had thought at the time._

—**End Flashback—**

He had nearly crapped his pants, he had later told her later on. She remembered laughing before kissing him briefly on the lips, telling him what a brave man he was … you know, all the things he wanted to here. Too bad it didn't last …

**I haven't? I feel like I talk about her all the time. lol. Anyway, she's doing well. Just as good as always, I suppose. She totally kicks my ass every day when we go to work. I swear our boss is a sexist.**

_I thought he was a guy …?_

**Yeah. But I think he's gay.**

Rukia laughed out loud. _Hey probably is, _she texted him. Snuggling into her couch a bit, Rukia smiled as she waited for her phone to buzz again with the alert that he was texting again.

**So, how's your boyfriend?**

She smiled. _He's good_, I replied. _Kinda a big monkey as always … but, what can you expect from a sports story writer? Honestly, there's no challenge in that kind of job._

Going to her kitchen, cell phone in hand, she dumped her remaining water in the sink and started to head toward her bedroom, smiling the whole way. She couldn't to get under the covers and curl up next to him; he was always so warm.

Two years ago, she had been full and ready to spend every night eating out of the same carton of chocolate ice cream and watching old, black-and-white romance movies. She had been ready to be lonely and even considered adopting a few cats, seeing that she would be "that kind of old woman" when she was older.

She had let her past rule over her entire life. She had felt guilty for so long and she had cried herself to sleep so many nights because she had lost the two people that had shown her kindness after her sister. They were loving and caring and helped so many people. Yes, she had been there the night they died. Yes, she had been part of the reason those thugs were there in the first place … but, she had been so young … just a child who was rebelling against a life she had never wanted. She realized that Kaien and Miyako would want her to be following her dreams, just like they had always told her. She realized that they had loved her like she was their daughter and they wanted her to live.

—**Flashback: One year, Six months Before—**

—**Rukia POV—**

_The wind was chilly, so I pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders. Standing in front of two graves in the early December was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I didn't care._

_It was their day … and I would endure any kind of weather I had to just to give them their respected day; they deserved it, after all, they were family._

_Staring down at two gravestones, I read: _Kaien Shiba – beloved son, brother, husband, and friend_ and_ Miyako Shiba – beloved daughter, wife, and friend_. There they were … my parents, my mentors, my best friends for two years._

_Dropping down on my knees I sobbed, trying to hold back tears. "Hey," I whispered. "I – I know you guys must be freezing … well, maybe not. Is it warmer underground? Well, that's kinda off subject, but, anyway … I'm coming here because I always do that on this day._

_"I'm just here to tell you guys, again, what you mean to me. You took me in when I had no one, you fed me, gave me clothes, a place to stay, a job … everything I needed to get on with my life. You never asked __questions … not how I got there and you never told me to go back home. You respected my decision in leaving, and that's why I loved you both so much."_

_Feeling my cheeks burn from hot tears and the cold air, I wiped them away. "I – I wanted to tell you that I'm going to stop feeling guilty. I know that you guys never blamed me for what happened. I realize that now. I'm going to stop feeling sorry for myself and just start living again. Y-you guys get that, r-right?"_

_More tears were falling, as I tried to hastily wipe them away. When I thought that I had failed, and I would never stop crying, he showed up, wrapping his arms around me and he held me tight while I cried and cried and cried._

_He was always there when I needed him._

—**End Flashback—**

And live was what she did. She had graduated college with a degree in journalism and a minor in marketing (she figured if journalism didn't work out, she could go back to college, get a bachelor's in marketing and then work with Renji side-by-side in the art museum). But, she had gotten job from the local paper and was now writing a weekly column about life and how to get through the hard times. She wrote under the name 'Sode no Shirayuki', which meant sleeved of white snow … she did it as a reminder of the snow, of the rain, and of Kaien and Miyako.

Her phone buzzed. **So, when are you going to bed?**

She giggled. _Pretty soon. I don't want to keep the old man waiting, you know? He goes to bed so early … I swear he acts four times his age. XD._

She laughed at her own joke as she stood outside her bedroom door. She heard a muffled chuckle behind it, and she wanted to go in so badly. She was nearly exhausted and she knew her boyfriend would be as well.

**Well, I'm going to go**, he texted after a couple of minutes. **My girlfriend will kill me if she finds out I'm talking to **_**another woman**_**.**

_I bet she won't mind._

**You don't know her like I do.**

She smiled down at her phone. Yes, she truly was happy with her life. Though it was hectic, irritating, and sometimes she was known to even crack under pressure, Rukia still loved every single minute of it.

—**Flashback: Eight months Before—**

—**Rukia POV—**

_I waited nervously outside of Mr. __Yumichika's__ office, waiting to see if he liked my story or not. This was my first story … the story that would depict the rest of my writing career. My boyfriend had been working here for a while longer than I had, so several of his stories were already printed._

_I sighed and looked over to him. He gave me his lopsided grin and just seeing his reassuring eyes filled me with confidence that our boss would like it. _

_"You nervous?" he asked._

_"Yeah," I admitted. "I mean … what if Mr. Yumichika doesn't like it? What am I supposed to do then? He told me that this story would depict the rest of my journalism career! What if I don't pass?"_

_I was freaking out and he noticed._

_Coming towards me, he wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. "You'll do fine," he whispered._

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because I got in and you're way better than me."_

_"True." I smirked and looked up at him. He gave me a quick kiss on my forehead and told me that everything was going to be alright and I was going to do fine in whatever paper I wrote for. I was about to tell him that I wanted to write here because he was here, when the door burst open._

_There, standing in his designer clothes and crazy hair, stood Mr. Yumichika. "It's beautiful!" he cried. He took me away from my boyfriend and held my hands up. "This is the most beautiful piece I've read in such a long time … I'm printing it this Sunday!"_

_It took the actual Sunday paper to convince me I wasn't dreaming._

—**End Flashback—**

She loved her job and she loved her life. She wouldn't have had it any other way. Though somethings hadn't worked out, problems had come, they eventually passed.

Smiling softly to herself, Rukia walked into her room. There, lying in their bed was her boyfriend. She closed the door and leaned up against it. "Hey, stranger," he said from under the sheets. He sat up and she saw that he was wearing a white t-shirt and shorts.

"Hey," she replied. "You weren't talking to that Chappi14 girl were you? You know I hate when you do that …" She smirked.

"Nah," he replied. "You weren't talking to SoulSlayer617, were you? I know you have a thing with role-playing but … living the past isn't as sexy as you make it out to be." He grinned and she stomped over to him.

Climbing into bed and on top of him, she straddled him. "You know you love it … don't you, SoulSlayer617?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head. Rukia smirked.

"Okay, it's pretty sexy … but, only when you do it. No one else can pull something like that off." He ran his fingers up her sides, making her shiver. She kissed his forehead and then rolled to his side. Instantly, he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into him.

She closed her eyes and let Ichigo rub her back soothingly; the action practically erased all the stress from work … she loved when he did that. It made her feel safe and warm and … _home_. Home … two years ago he had thought that America was going to be his home, she knew.

She remembered the day she almost lost him.

—**Flashback: Nine months Before—**

—**Rukia POV—**

_I was running. Running and running and running. I didn't know how something like this could happen. It had just been one argument that had went too far. I hadn't meant to say some of the things I said._

_We had been fighting … of what I can't remember. Eventually though he started yelling about my brother and then about Kaien and Miyako … I told him to go take the next flight to America. He had screamed fine, grabbed his bag, and walked out._

_I thought he would have come back._

_When he didn't, I became worried and started to pace. After two hours of waiting, I knew that he was taking my request seriously and he was actually going to leave. I didn't want him to leave. I never even had the opportunity to tell him that I loved him._

_And now, I was running. I had taken the bus to the nearest airport and I had ran inside, looking for him. I asked people if they had seen a man with orange hair come through there, and looked and looked._

_I couldn't find him._

_I felt tears falling down my cheeks. I collapsed to my knees all of a sudden; without warning, I let out a sob. "I-Ichigo …" I whispered. "Where are you?"_

_I looked up, frantically scanning the crowd. Something caught my eye … _orange_. Picking myself off of the ground, I started running again, using the sunset locks as my guide. I was so close …_

_"Ichigo!" I yelled._

_The man turned around as his name was being called. When he saw me, he dropped his bags and ran to me. "Rukia, what are you doing here?" he asked, taking my arms._

_"I – I don't want you to leave …" I whispered. "I didn't mean it, Ichigo. I want you to stay here. We graduated together, we're working together … well, in the same building … I love where we are now. Please don't leave …"_

_He roughly pulled me into his chest and let me cry. He rested his chin on top of my head and whispered, "You told me to leave. I know I said some things that I shouldn't have … and I'm sorry."_

_"Me too," I replied. "I – Ichigo … don't ever leave me again, even when I tell you to. I … I love you and I don't want you to leave. Please." I rushed the last part of my plea. He was silent for a long time and I sure he didn't hear me. People still rushed around us, trying to get to their right plane, but as we stood there, the world disappeared around us._

_But that was when he leaned down to my level and kissed my forehead. "I love you too." _

_And we left that place. The plane headed for America would have one less passenger that day._

—**End Flashback—**

"Ichigo," she said quietly. Ichigo looked over to his violet-eyed girlfriend as she looked up at him. "I love you," she whispered quietly, just audible enough so he could hear.

He kissed her on the lips.

"I love you too."

She smiled and snuggled closer to his warmth. Two years ago, if someone would have told her she would be writing for a living, she would have the best boyfriend in the world, and she would happy, she would have laughed and told that person to stop lying. Two years ago, if someone would have told her that signing up for the school's dating website would be one of the best things she would have ever do in her life … she would have never logged on just to piss that person off.

Sometimes, she had learned, when the world is crashing down all around you and all you want to do is go to America or willingly follow every order your brother gives you, there will be someone to pick you up when you trip and fall down. Sometimes, she figured, the police get to the scene of the crime on time.

If that was true, then Ichigo was the best policeman she had ever known.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it! That's the last installment if "LovedotCOM." I hope you guys enjoyed it! **

**Okay, I want to thank my best friend ****Konoichi2.0**** for all her listening as I gushed over this story, not only throughout the writing about it … but in late November when I actually came up with the idea. Though she's not HUGE into Bleach, she's still always there to listen to me ramble. ;). Thanks Kono! I would also like to thank ****carrietheninja**** and all her college words … and, well, let's face it … talking about benches, fishing, and the Bleach Rock Musical at two in the morning is just too much fun when you don't have any inspiration. XD. Thanks so much to you guys specifically! **

**But, I want to thank all my reviewers, readers, everyone else as well! You guys are awesome and continue to flatter me with all your kind compliments and so many reviews. Okay, sappy moment over! **

**Here are the next two stories I'm writing:**

**Five Times****:**

_**It was the same event, the same celebration, the same happiness. It was the same wedding, told five different ways. —IchiRuki—**_

**Free Me****:**

—_**AU— Ichigo and Rukia are two innocent, convicted criminals who are in jail for life. As the girls side of prison is being rebuilt, these two unlikely "murderers" will have to learn to cope with each other ... if they don't kill each other first. IchiRuki**_

**The other story I was planning on writing called "Iris" I'm actually not going to write anymore. Instead, I'm using the same idea … and changing it into a **_**Twilight**_** fanfiction. Keep an eye open for that if you're interested! Also, udpates might come later with some stories. I've thought of a totally awesome idea (well, for me that is) about a story of my OWN CREATION that I really want to write.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Signing out (to the longest A/N ever),**

**Zapenbits**


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